Kyiv is hosting a wave of Western dignitaries this weekend as Ukraine prepares to mark its Independence Day on Monday. The visits underscore continued international solidarity even as the war enters a phase defined by long-range drone strikes and economic attrition.
On Sunday, President Volodymyr Zelenskyy met with Finnish President Alexander Stubb for a roundtable on joint defence cooperation. He also received a bipartisan US delegation led by Senators Richard Blumenthal and James Lankford, briefing them on the persistent threat of Russian ballistic missiles and the urgent need for more advanced air-defence systems.
European Council President António Costa is expected to arrive in the coming hours, along with Luxembourg's Prime Minister Luc Frieden. Their presence signals that the EU's institutional leadership remains firmly behind Ukraine, even as domestic political debates across the bloc test the limits of public patience.
Zelenskyy rules out wartime elections
Ahead of the celebrations, Zelenskyy dismissed a surprise proposal from his former Defence Minister, Mykhailo Fedorov, to hold a presidential election during the war. Speaking to reporters, he called the idea a "huge risk" and warned that it would create a "tsunami" that could split the country.
"If we want to destroy the country, then we can move in the direction of elections during these times of war," he said. The president had dismissed Fedorov earlier this year, a move that triggered protests and a political crisis in Kyiv.
Ukraine turns its drones on Ozon
On the battlefield, Ukraine is now focusing its long-range strike campaign on Ozon, Russia's second-largest online marketplace, following a series of attacks on rival Wildberries. Over the weekend, Ukrainian drones hit an Ozon logistics facility in Orenburg, a city in the Ural foothills, for the second time in two days.
Orenburg's mayor, Albert Yumadilov, said on Telegram that several UAVs were shot down over the city's special economic zone. "Debris fell onto the grounds of the Ozon logistics complex, causing a fire which was quickly extinguished," he wrote, adding that no injuries were reported.
On Saturday, a separate strike targeted an Ozon hub in the Samara region. The company said more than 500 employees were evacuated within minutes, with an unspecified number of injuries and warehouse operations suspended indefinitely.
The Ukrainian Defence Ministry announced a new strategy aimed at Ozon, which it says stores "dual-use goods" that support Russia's military. "After Ukrainian units hit 15 of Wildberries' largest logistics hubs, it's now Ozon's turn," the ministry said on social media. "Systematic strikes on storage centers holding dual-use goods are disrupting the enemy's logistics and negatively impacting Russia's economy as a whole."
Kyiv has framed these attacks as a response to Russian strikes on Ukrainian civilian infrastructure, including the Nova Poshta postal network. President Zelenskyy has said Wildberries is involved in "the supply of military goods" and generates "big money for Russia," claiming the strikes have already caused billions of dollars in losses. The company, founded in 2004 by Russian billionaire Tatyana Kim, has become a symbol of Russia's modern consumer economy.
Russian strikes on Ukraine's railways
Moscow, meanwhile, continues to target Ukraine's transport network. On Sunday, a Russian strike hit a train at Lymanivka station in the northeastern Kharkiv region, killing one person and injuring four others, according to Infrastructure Minister Mykola Kalashnyk. He said the train had been stopped in time due to a drone threat and most passengers had been evacuated, but some remained near the carriages.
In the southern Odesa region, a Shahed drone struck a passenger train travelling from Zhytomyr to Odesa. Oleksandr Pertsovskyi, head of Ukrainian Railways, said the crew received an evacuation order in time and brought the train to an emergency halt. All 593 passengers, including 15 children, were safe.
For Zelenskyy, two challenges dominate: countering Russian ballistic missiles and securing sustainable funding for Ukraine's defence. He has repeatedly called for more interceptor missiles, particularly US-made Patriot systems, and is seeking 300 of them as part of a winter package to protect Ukrainian skies.
As the diplomatic calendar converges on Kyiv, the message from Western capitals is clear: support for Ukraine remains a strategic priority, even as the war grinds on and the economic costs mount on both sides.
