Volodymyr Zelenskyy has shared an “inspirational” letter sent to him from King Charles on Ukraine’s Independence Day, along with other messages from Donald Trump, Pope Leo and Xi Jinping. Follow the latest.
Sunday 24 August 2025 09:03, UK
The Colosseum is being lit up in the colours of the Ukrainian flag today to mark the country’s Independence Day, Italy’s foreign minister has announced.
Antonio Tajani said the move “demonstrates the closeness of the Italian people and institutions to our Ukrainian friends”.
The facades of the foreign ministry building will also display Ukraine’s colours, he added.
Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney has arrived in Kyiv, where he is expected to meet with Volodymyr Zelenskyy.
Posting a message on social media this morning, Carney congratulated Ukraine on its 34th Independence Day, adding that support between Ottawa’s support for Kyiv was “unwavering”.
“We are with you every step of the way to defend your sovereignty and to realise your dreams for your country.”
Volodymyr Zelenskyy has been spending his morning thanking various world leaders for their messages of support on Ukraine’s Independence Day.
Earlier, the Ukrainian president revealed a letter sent to him by King Charles, in which the British monarch said he feels the “greatest and deepest admiration for the unbreakable courage and spirit of the Ukrainian people”.
Zelenskyy has also shared letters from Pope Leo, US President Donald Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping.
Referencing the ongoing war in his message, Pope Leo says he hopes the “clamour of arms may fall silent and give way to dialogue, opening the path to peace”.
Trump similarly says that “now is the moment to bring an end to the senseless killing,” calling for a “negotiated settlement that leads to a durable, lasting peace that ends the bloodshed and safeguards Ukraine’s sovereignty and dignity”.
In the letter from Xi, a close ally of Russian President Vladimir Putin, there is no mention of the war in Ukraine, which China has remained publicly neutral over since it began.
Volodymyr Zelenskyy has shared a message sent to him from King Charles for Ukraine’s Independence Day.
In the letter, which the Ukrainian president shared on social media, Charles says he feels the “greatest and deepest admiration for the unbreakable courage and spirit of the Ukrainian people”.
He adds: “I remain hopeful that our countries will be able to further work closely together to achieve a just and lasting peace.”
In response, Zelenskyy says the monarch’s “kind words are a true inspiration for our people during the difficult time of war”.
The government has announced that Ukrainian flags will appear above Downing Street and several Whitehall buildings to mark the country’s Independence Day today.
The prime minister’s official residence at No 10 Downing Street is among the buildings where a flag will fly today, along with the Cabinet Office, Treasury, and several other ministerial headquarters.
“We stand in solidarity with the Ukrainian people, including those who have made a second home here in the UK, in the face of continued Russian aggression,” a government spokesperson said.
UK Defence Secretary John Healey has said Britain is “ramping up” its support for Ukraine “on this special day for the freedom and democracy of the Ukrainian people”.
It comes after an announcement from the Ministry of Defence that British military experts will continue to train Ukrainian soldiers until at least the end of 2026.
A fire was sparked and capacity was reduced by 50% at the Kursk nuclear power plant overnight after a Ukrainian drone was shot down over the site, Russian officials said.
There were no injuries and a fire sparked by the attack was promptly extinguished, the plant’s press service said. Radiation levels at the site and in the surrounding area have not exceeded normal limits, it added.
The UN’s nuclear watchdog has repeatedly called on both Russia and Ukraine to show maximum restraint around nuclear facilities in the war.
Ukraine has not commented on the accusation regarding the plant in Kursk, a region where Kyiv’s troops briefly invaded in a surprise military counteroffensive last year.
Elsewhere, the regional governor in Russia’s northern Leningrad region said around 10 Ukrainian drones were downed over the port of Ust-Luga, with debris sparking a fire at a fuel export terminal and processing complex.
Vyacheslav Fedorishchev, governor of the Samara region, said Ukrainian drones also attacked an industrial enterprise in the southern city of Syzran, adding there were no casualties.
Rosaviatsia, Russia’s civil aviation authority, said flights were halted for hours on end at several airports overnight, including at the Pulkovo airport in the Leningrad region, due to the threat of drone attacks.
Good morning and welcome back to our live coverage of the war in Ukraine.
Russia’s defence ministry says its units destroyed almost 100 Ukrainian drones fired into the country across 13 regions last night.
Attacks caused travel disruption at Russian airports and caused a fire and capacity reduction at the Kursk nuclear power plant, officials said.
It comes as Ukraine celebrates its independence day, which marks the country’s declaration of independence from the Soviet Union in 1991.
Volodymyr Zelenskyy is also hosting Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney in Kyiv today.
We’ll bring you up to date on all of those lines and plenty more here in the blog, so stay tuned.
That’s all for now, but we’ll be back with the latest updates soon.
Until then, here’s a quick recap of today’s developments:
Attack on energy facility
Russia confirmed a Ukrainian attack on an oil facility connected to the Druzhba pipeline, one of the biggest crude oil networks in the world.
‘Like oil and vinegar’ – and could Putin go to the World Cup?
Donald Trump compared Vladimir Putin and Volodymyr Zelenskyy to oil and vinegar – as they “don’t get along too well”.
“We’re going to see if Putin and Zelenskyy will be working together,” he said, when asked about the prospect of a meeting between the leaders.
A little later, Trump also said Putin “may” come to the World Cup next year, which is mostly hosted by the US next summer.
Putin ‘ready to meet Zelenskyy’ – but not yet
Russian foreign minister Sergei Lavrov said Putin is prepared to meet Zelenskyy when a summit agenda is ready.
But that agenda is “not at all” ready.
Nord Stream attacks
The Ukrainian suspect in the Nord Stream attacks had links with Kyiv’s intelligence agency, Sky News understands.
Donald Trump will see “whose fault it is”, when asked if he will do anything on the war in Ukraine.
“If there are reasons why, I’ll understand that,” he added, before referring to hopes of a meeting between Volodymyr Zelenskyy and Vladimir Putin.
“I know exactly what I’m doing. We’ll see if they have a meeting… I told them to have a meeting.”
He also said he’s “going to make a decision” when two weeks are up.
“It’s going to be a very important decision – and that’s whether or not it’s massive sanctions or massive tariffs or… do we do nothing and say it’s your fight,” he added.
“Look, I would have never been in this war if I were president.”
Trump has repeatedly referred to a two-week deadline in this war and other issues.
He has also been hesitant to blame Russia for the war it continues to wage on Ukraine after launching a full-scale invasion in 2022.
In an event at the White House for the World Cup in the US next year, Donald Trump was asked about potential difficulties visitors may face coming into the country.
As part of his answer, Trump pulled out a picture of him and Vladimir Putin from his desk drawer, telling the media he “may be coming, depending on what happens”.
“He may not, depending on what happens. We have a lot of things happening over the next couple of weeks,” he added.
“But I thought it was a nice picture of him.”
Before he revealed the photo, he said he was “just sent a picture from somebody that wants to be there [the World Cup] very badly”.
“He’s been very respectful of me and of our country, but not so respectful of others,” he added.
Asked about Russian strikes reportedly hitting a US business in Ukraine, Trump said he is “not happy about it”.
“I’m not happy about anything to do with that war,” he said.
“I think over the next two weeks, we’re going to find out which way it’s going to go and I better be very happy.”
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