War in Ukraine: Kyiv celebrates independence in cloudy prospects on peace

The Ukrainian President Wolodymyr Selenskyj congratulated his compatriots three and a half years after the start of the war on independence day and predicted a better future for the country attacked by Russia. “We will create a Ukraine that has enough strength and potency to live in safety and peace,” Selenskyj promised in his address spread to Telegram.

On the video he can be seen in front of the independence places in Kyiv. The mighty statue of freedom on the Maidan is also a symbol of the indestructibility of Ukraine, which had been withstanding the war of aggressiveness in Russia for three and a half years, he emphasized in the video.

Selenskyj: Ukrainians stand for independence

The war led to a new self -esteem of the Ukrainians, who no longer rely on the good will of others, but rather take their fate into their own hands and be willing to fight for their freedom, said the Ukrainian President.

He recalled Russia’s daily air strikes against civilian institutions such as hospitals and schools in Ukraine. Ukraine responds with attacks against fuel deposits, but also military airfields deep in Russia. Nobody can forbid that to her. For these words, the pictures of the drone attack organized by the Ukrainian secret service were presented on aircraft of the strategic bomber fleet of Russia in early July.

Media: Pentagon blocks rocket attacks on Russia

This passage in Selenskyj’s speech can also be interpreted in response to a media report about a US ban on using far-reaching weapons. The “Wall Street Journal”, citing US officials, had reported that Pentagon has been blocking the use of rockets with a greater reach by Ukraine for attacks on targets in Russia for months.

Since late spring, Ukraine has prevented an approval procedure from the Ministry of Defense from using the ATACMS rockets delivered by the USA against goals in Russia, the officials are cited. At least once, Ukraine tried to use these rockets against a goal on Russian territory, but this was rejected.

Under President Joe Biden, the USA of Ukraine had allowed attacks with far -reaching weapons against military objects in Russia last year. Trump had posted last week that it was very difficult, if not impossible to win a war without attacking the invasor country.

Ukraine recently intensified its own drone construction program and also presented a new rocket with Flamingo, which is said to have a range of up to 3,000 kilometers. This would make goals far behind the Ural Mountains within reach of Ukrainian weapons. The rocket is still in the test phase – but by the end of the year Kiev claims to have bought a larger arsenal of such weapons.

Drone attacks meet oil refineries

So far, Ukraine has been dependent on its drones when attacks on strategic objects in Russian hinterland. These have disturbed the Russian fuel supply very sensitively in recent weeks. There were several hits again at night.

In the Russian Baltic Sea port of Vust-Luga near St. Petersburg, a terminal of the Kremlin-close oil and gas producer Novatek caught fire. According to the authorities, ten drones were shot down above the port. Their debris had triggered the fire that the extinguishing work was underway, wrote the governor of the region, Alexander Drosdenko.

According to media reports, a refinery was again hit in the Samara area. Governor Wjatscheslaw Fedoritschew confirmed the attack, but made no more precise information about the damage.

Drone attack near nuclear power plant

Reports on the shooting of a fight drone near the nuclear power plant in the West Russian area of ​​Kursk also caused excitement. In the explosion, a transformer for the power plant’s power supply was damaged, and the power was then downhill in one block, the power plant management said on Telegram.

Overall, the Russian military wants to have shot down 95 Ukrainian fight drones. On the other hand, the Ukrainian air defense reports over 75 drones and a rocket that Russia has used for fire.

Cloudy views on peace

The unabated mutual attacks also show that the perspectives for quick peace are cloudy. The hopes for a soon-to-be meeting of Selenskyj and Kremlin chief Vladimir Putin, according to a reaction from Moscow, have largely evaporated.

Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov had stated that such a meeting must be well prepared and repeated known demands that are more reminiscent of the conditions for a surrender of Ukraine than a real offer of peace.

How the United States react to this is unclear. Selenskyj received the U.S. Sonderstanded Keith Kellogg in Kiev on Sunday and presented him with the first class Order of Merit. Kellogg is considered the politician in the US administration who sympathizes most with Kiev in the defense against the Russian invasion.

In addition, Canada’s Prime Minister Mark Carney also traveled to Kyiv. Canada belongs to the “coalition of the willing”, which wants to participate in security guarantees for Ukraine for the time after a possible peace agreement.

Selenskyj had previously been optimistic about that promise of protection for his country. He assumes that a corresponding agreement can be signed in the next few days, he wrote to X. However, it cannot be assumed that Russia will also give such guarantees shortly.