Ukraine marked its Independence Day on Sunday with a wave of drone strikes on Russian territory, including an attack that sparked a fire at a nuclear power plant, even as peace efforts between the two countries appeared to stall.

The strikes came after days of diplomacy, including a push by US President Donald Trump to broker a summit between Russian President Vladimir Putin and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky. Those efforts faltered on Friday when Moscow ruled out any immediate talks.

“This is how Ukraine strikes when its calls for peace are ignored. Today, both the US and Europe agree: Ukraine has not yet fully won, but it will certainly not lose. Ukraine has secured its independence. Ukraine is not a victim; it is a fighter,” Zelensky declared in his Independence Day address.

Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney travelled to Kyiv for the celebrations, urging “a just and lasting peace for Ukraine.” Zelensky also thanked world leaders including Trump, Chinese President Xi Jinping, King Charles, and Pope Francis for their messages marking the occasion.

Norway and Germany also announced Sunday that they would be jointly funding two Patriot systems, including missiles, while Norway will also contribute to the purchase of air defense radars worth nearly 7 billion kroner ($695 million).

Now in its fourth year, the war has killed tens of thousands, though Russia has made limited gains in recent weeks, including the capture of two villages in the eastern Donetsk region last Saturday.

Ukraine’s counterattacks on Sunday included drones launched deep into Russian territory. One detonated over the Kursk Nuclear Power Plant in western Russia, igniting a fire that was quickly put out, the plant said. No casualties or radiation leaks were reported.

The International Atomic Energy Agency has repeatedly warned of the risks of combat near nuclear facilities since Russia’s invasion in 2022.

Elsewhere, Russian officials reported drones downed as far away as Saint Petersburg. Ten drones were intercepted over the port of Ust-Luga on the Gulf of Finland, sparking a fire at a Novatek fuel terminal, regional governor Aleksandr Drozdenko wrote on Telegram.

Ukraine has increasingly turned to drones to offset its smaller arsenal, focusing on Russian oil infrastructure to disrupt a key source of funding for Moscow’s war. Russia, in turn, has seen fuel prices soar since the strikes began.

Kyiv said it faced heavy bombardment overnight, including a ballistic missile and 72 Iranian-made Shahed drones. Its air force claimed to have shot down 48. A separate Russian drone attack killed a 47-year-old woman in Dnipropetrovsk, the regional governor said.

The rising violence highlights the war’s toll as Ukrainians marked the anniversary of their country’s 1991 independence from the Soviet Union.

Russia now controls roughly a fifth of Ukraine, including Crimea, which it annexed in 2014. The war has displaced millions and devastated entire cities and villages across the east and south.

Despite repeated calls from Kyiv and Western allies for a ceasefire, Putin has resisted. On Friday, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said “no meeting” between the two leaders was planned, as Trump’s mediation efforts appeared to stall. Zelensky accused Moscow of seeking only to prolong the fighting.