In a speech published on X, the president says that Ukraine will continue to fight to defend its independence.
We need a fair peace, a peace where our future is determined only by ourselves, and the world knows it, and the world respects it.
Zelenskyj adds that he is convinced that the country will receive security guarantees from its allies that are "so strong that the idea of attacking Ukraine would never occur to anyone".
This is not just our goal - it is exactly what we want and must carry on as a legacy to our children and grandchildren: A strong Ukraine, an equal Ukraine, a European Ukraine, an independent Ukraine.
Foreign forces
The presence of foreign forces on the ground is "important" after the war against Russia ends, Zelenskyj said when he held a speech together with Canada's Prime Minister Mark Carney who attended the independence celebration in Kyiv.
Carney in turn emphasized that security guarantees are a matter for Ukraine and its allies.
- It is not Russia's business how future sovereignty, independence and freedom for Ukraine are guaranteed, he says to journalists.
Ukraine declared itself independent from the Soviet Union on August 24, 1991.
Retook villages
Ukraine has retaken three villages from Russia in the Donetsk region on Sunday, according to Ukraine's military chief Oleksandr Syrskyj.
"Our forces have carried out successful counterattacks and cleared the villages Mychailivka, Zelenyi Gai, and Volodymyrivka in the Donetsk region of enemies", he writes on social media.
During the night, a fire broke out at a Russian nuclear facility after Russian military shot down a Ukrainian drone in Kursk in western Russia. The fire could be extinguished and no deaths have been reported. The radiation level in the area is said to be unchanged.
A fire also broke out in the Russian port of Ust-Luga on the Gulf of Finland, caused by wreckage from drones that were shot down, according to the region's governor. The port is a large terminal for fuel exports and is used by the Russian shadow fleet.
The Russian Defense Ministry reported on Sunday that Russia and Ukraine have exchanged 146 prisoners of war each.
