Ukraine-Russia war latest: US blocks Kyiv from firing long-range missiles deep inside Russia

Ukrainians living in the UK have said they are scared the war will “never end” after peace talks between the US and Russia ended uneventfully.

Monika Popadiuk, who moved to the UK from Kyiv in July 2022, said she was “afraid of losing everything a second time” if the conflict is not brought to an end.

Russia’s air defence units destroyed two drones flying towards Moscow, Sergei Sobyanin, the mayor of the Russian capital said this morning.

“Emergency services are working at the site where the debris fell,” Sobyanin said in a post on the Telegram messaging app.

Speaking in Kyiv on Ukraine’s Independence Day, Zelensky said the end of the war would mean a “guarantee of peace” for Ukraine.

“We are all working to ensure that the end of this war would mean the guarantee of peace for Ukraine, so that neither war nor the threat of war are left for our children to inherit,” Zelensky told a crowd of dignitaries in Kyiv’s Sophia Square.

Zelensky has previously said he wants future security guarantees as part of a potential peace deal to be as close as possible to NATO’s Article 5, which considers an attack on one member state as an attack against all.

Support has poured in for Ukraine and President Zelensky on Ukraine’s Independence Day.

Posting on X, Zelensky shared dozens of letters and posts from foreign leaders, including Sir Keir Starmer, Emmanuel Macron, and Mark Carney.

The US has reportedly been blocking Ukraine from using long-range missiles in Russia, according to the Wall Street Journal.

Both US-made Army Tactical Missile Systems (Atacms) and British-produced Storm Shadows depend on US targeting data.

A new review process brought in by Washington in late spring has blocked Ukraine from using Atacms at least one, the report claimed.

In response, Zelensky said Kyiv had recently been using its own weapons and not consulting with Washington over strikes.

A British operation to help train Ukrainian forces will continue until at least the end of 2026, the government has announced.

Operation Interflex has trained more than 50,000 Ukrainian recruits on British soil.

Speaking ahead of Ukraine’s Independence Day celebrations, Defence Secretary John Healey said the UK was “ramping up” its support for Ukrainian forces.

Russia’s Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov has insisted that Vladimir Putin is ready to come to the table for peace negotiations, but has called Volodymyr Zelensky “illegitimate”.

In an interview on Sunday he said Russia would need reassurance whoever was “signing documents” was “legitimate”.

Zelensky has repeatedly said he is willing to commence peace talks with the Russian leader.

The Ukrainian defence minister has welcomed returning prisoners of war home.

In a post on X, he said Kyiv do “everything possible” to bring them back.

Nearly 150 prisoners from each side were reportedly swapped on Sunday.

Ukraine’s military hit Russia’s Syzran oil refinery overnight, it said on Sunday.

The refinery, located in the Samara region, is operated by Russian oil giant Rosneft.

New footage released by Kyiv shows the Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney joining Zelensky to remember fallen troops on Ukraine’s Independence Day.