EUROPEAN leaders joined President Volodymyr Zelensky in Kiev today for official celebrations marking Ukraine’s Independence Day as Russia pushes on with its four-year invasion of the country.

The visiting leaders took part in a meeting of the so-called “Coalition of the Willing” who wanted to continue pouring cash into fighting the Russian invasion of Ukraine.

The meeting was jointly chaired by the leaders of Britain, France and Germany, with many other leaders joining by video call.

It was British Prime Minister Andy Burnham’s first foreign trip since coming to office last month.

The meeting was jointly chaired by the leaders of Britain, France and Germany, with most leaders joining by video call and a small number of foreign dignitaries attending in person.

Kiev is seeking additional interceptor missiles from allies after weeks of Russian missile and drone attacks.

Mr Zelensky has made frequent public appeals for more air defence supplies from allies.

Before the meeting, Mr Zelensky said deliveries of Patriot interceptors had halved since 2023.

He said: “Over the entire 2023, Ukraine received 675 missiles, and over all of 2025, 364, even though Russian missile strikes have increased.

“For 2026, as currently projected, it is 264.”

Russia and Ukraine have both escalated air attacks with drones and missiles in recent weeks, striking targets far beyond the front line.

Russian authorities said that two children were killed and nine other people were wounded, including seven minors, when drone debris hit a private childcare centre in Krasnodar on Monday. Debris also fell on apartment buildings and set warehouses alight in the city, Governor Veniamin Kondratyev said.

In Ukraine, at least two women were killed and five people wounded when a Russian drone hit an electric train in Ukraine’s Kharkiv region on Sunday, regional officials said. An attack on the outskirts of Kharkiv city killed three people and injured eight.