Ukraine’s national flag flies in Independence Square in Kyiv, August 24, 2025

EA on CBC: Canada’s Vital Support for Ukraine

Sunday’s Coverage: US Sells Extended-Range Missiles to Kyiv — But Can They Be Used?

UPDATE 1643 GMT:

Polish President Karol Nawrocki is threatening to cut funding for Ukraine’s Starlink internet service.

Nawrocki vetoed a bill, extending financial support for Ukrainians fleeing the war, which included the Starlink provision.

Poland has financed Starlink since the start of Russia’s 42-month full-scale invasion, providing a communications lifeline for soldiers on the frontline.

Polish Deputy Prime Minister Krzysztof Gawkowski posted:

This is the end of the Starlink Internet, which Poland provides to Ukraine, which is waging war. This is also the end of support for storing Ukrainian administration data in a safe place.

I can’t imagine a better gift for Putin’s troops than cutting off Ukraine from the internet.

Nawrocki, narrowly elected in June, is trying to seize control of foreign policy from the Government of Prime Minister Donald Tusk. He is a foe of immigration, including of Ukrainians fleeing the Russian invasion.

UPDATE 1443 GMT:

Norway is planning to allocate $8.45 billion in aid to Ukraine in 2026, announced Prime Minister Jonas Gahr Støre during a visit to Kyiv.

Referring to security guarantees, he said, “The key thing is for the United States to remain engaged in these discussions.”

Norway will take part in training Ukrainian troops and protecting Ukraine’s airspace through the provision of air defense systems.

Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelensky posted:

UPDATE 1238 GMT:

Days after the February 28 ambush of Volodymyr Zelensky in the White House, the Trump Administration pursued possible replacements for the Ukrainian President.

Sources said Valerii Zaluzhnyi, Ukraine’s Ambassador to the UK and the former military commander-in-chief, declined a phone call from US Vice President JD Vance, who led the verbal assault on Zelensky.

Vance’s team tried “tried various diplomatic and other channels” to contact the ambassador, said the sources.

Zaluzhnyi refused the call after consulting with Presidential Chief of Staff Andrii Yermak. A source close to Zaluzhnyi” said the refusal was a “principled position” and a sign of unity, reflecting Ukraine’s feeling of having been “humiliated”.

In a recent survey by the Rating group, Zaluzhnyi was second after Zelensky in a hypothetical Presidential race with 25% support. His potential political party led the hypothetical parliamentary elections with 22%.

Trump’s team also spoke with former Prime Minister Yulia Tymoshenko and members of the party of Pyotr Poroshenko, Ukraine’s President from 2014 to 2019.

UPDATE 0722 GMT:

Two civilians have been murdered and 33 injured by Russian attacks across Ukraine over the past day.

Air defenses downed 76 of 104 drones launched by Russia overnight.

In the Kharkiv region in the northeast, an 82-year-old woman was killed in a Russian attack on the city of Kupiansk in Kharkiv Oblast, according to Governor Oleh Syniehubov. Three people, including an 83-year-old woman, were wounded.

In the neighboring Donetsk region, one person was slain and three injured.

Casualties were also reported in the Dnipropetrovsk, Sumy, and Kherson regions.

UPDATE 0649 GMT:

Trying to justify a US approach to Russia avoiding sanctions, long-range strikes, or other punitive measures, J.D. Vance forgot — or deliberately lied — about World War II.

Speaking to NBC News on Sunday, Vance skipped over the unconditional surrenders of Germany and Japan in 1945.

ORIGINAL ENTRY: Defying Russia’s 42-month full-scale invasion, Ukrainians celebrated the 34th anniversary of their independence on Sunday.

Crowds cheered, sang, and danced throughout the country even as the Kremlin said it would not relent in its attacks.

President Voldoymyr Zelensky said in Independence Square in Kyiv:

We are building a Ukraine strong enough to live in safety and peace. So that on this square, on the Maidan of our Independence, under our flags, on our land, our children and grandchildren will celebrate Independence Day. In peace. In calm. With confidence in the future. With respect and gratitude to all who defended Ukraine in this war, the war for independence. Who endured, who were able, who triumphed. This is the purpose worth living for. This is why we stand.

With Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney; Donald Trump’s envoy Keith Kellogg; and defense ministers of five countries joining the celebrations, Zelensky said a face-to-face meeting with Vladimir Putin remained “the most effective way forward” to end the Russian invasion.

He emphasized that Kyiv can strike Russian targets without coordination with the Trump Administration, following a report that the Administration’s “review process” enabled Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth to bar Ukrainian long-range strikes with American missiles since late spring.

The President said Ukraine’s new domestically-produced missile, the Flamingo, with a range of up to 3,000 km (1,864 miles), has undergone successful tests: “By December, we’ll have more of them. And by the end of December or in January–February, mass production should begin.”

And he hailed an exchange of 146 prisoners on each side with Russia. Soldiers and civilians returned home, including Dmytro Khyliuk and Mark Kaliush; the former mayor of Kherson city, Volodymyr Mykolaienko; and medic Serhii Kovalov.

Volodymyr Mykolaienko, Kherson mayor, returns from Russian captivity.

He was captured by Russia in April 2022, as Kherson was in Russian occupation, for refusing to collaborate with Russia.
#Ukraine

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— Anton Gerashchenko (@antongerashchenko.bsky.social) August 24, 2025 at 3:08 PM

Lavrov: “We Did Not Invade Ukraine or Kill Civilians”

Speaking to the US outlet NBC News, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov again pushed back the Zelensky-Putin meeting sought not only by the Ukrainian President but also by Donald Trump.

He berated Zelensky for “demanding an immediate meeting at all costs”, denying that Russia had invaded Ukraine and insisting three times that Moscow never fires on Ukrainian civilians.

Pressed by host Kristen Welker about the Russian destruction of an American electronics factory in western Ukraine, Lavrov said “people were really naive” if they believed the manufacturer was only producing civilian components.

Welker cited the 50,000 Ukrainian civilian casualties. Lavrov asked for her to send the information to the Kremlin: “You might be missing information.”

Vance Sides With Russia

The Trump Administration put out conflicting messages on Sunday.

In Kyiv, visiting envoy Keith Kellogg vowed to “push Russia to peace”. Meeting Deputy Prime Minister Yulia Svyrydenko, he continued the discussion of security guarantees raised by Zelensky and seven European leaders in the White House last Monday.

They also spoke of “investments, reconstruction partnerships, and new technologies” with a “special focus” on drones.

But Vice President J.D. Vance, in his interview on NBC News, refused any support for Ukraine. Instead, having heard Lavrov, he proclaimed that the Russians “have made significant concessions”.

Welker spoke about the Russian attacks on civilians, including the American electronics plant, and the maintenance of its ultimata for surrender of territory and a weak, demilitarized Ukraine.

Vance replied by absolving the Kremlin of responsibility for the invasion:

What I admire about [Donald Trump] in this moment is that he’s not asking [about] 3 1/2 years ago. He’s not trying to focus on every nitpicky detail of how this thing started….

He’s trying to focus on the nitpicky details of now.

In contrast, Canadian Prime Minister Carney said, “Canada has no illusions about the greatness of your struggle. You should have no doubts about Canadians’ commitment to your cause. And your cause is freedom and sovereignty.”

He announced Ottawa’s latest C$2 billion (US$1.45 billion) package of military aid to Ukraine, including drones, ammunition, and armored vehicles, and spoke of collective defense of Kyiv against another Russian invasion: “It is not realistic that the only security guarantee could be the strength of the Ukrainian armed forces…that needs to be buttressed and reinforced.”

The two countries signed a joint defense production agreement. Ukraine Defense Minister Denys Shmyhal commented: