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European leaders will meet Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy at Downing Street in London in a few hours to discuss increasing pressure on Russia as it faces military setbacks in Ukraine.
The meeting, set to start at 6:30 p.m. CEST, will bring together Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, French President Emmanuel Macron, German Chancellor Friedrich Merz and UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer. It comes days after Zelenskyy publicly appealed to Russian President Vladimir Putin to end the more than four-year war, proposing direct talks in an open letter published ahead of the St. Petersburg International Economic Forum.
The Kremlin rejected the proposal, with Putin reportedly describing the letter as “rude” and questioning Zelenskyy’s intentions.
The Russian leader also dismissed the idea of a face-to-face meeting, saying there was “no point” in such talks, while a Kremlin spokesperson said Zelenskyy was free to travel to Moscow if he wished to hold discussions.
The announcement comes after Ukraine carried out a large-scale drone attack on St Petersburg on Saturday, highlighting Kyiv’s ability to strike deep inside Russian territory.
On Sunday, Zelenskyy accused Russia of targeting critical nuclear infrastructure. “Russia deliberately struck this particular nuclear infrastructure facility. As of now, there are no readings exceeding normal background radiation levels,” he wrote on X.
“But there is certainly an increase in Russia’s brazenness, which long ago went off the charts. Ukrainian first responders extinguished the fire at this facility after the strike. And real new steps by the world are needed so that the Russians feel that this terrorist war of theirs is a blow to Russia itself.”
Ukraine says it intercepted 215 of 236 Russian drones launched overnight
Russia launched 236 drones against Ukraine overnight, 215 of which were intercepted or jammed, according to the Ukrainian Air Force.
Ukrainian officials said 17 drones reached their targets across 13 locations, while debris from intercepted UAVs caused damage in nine other areas.
The attack caused damage in several regions, including the northern Chernihiv region, where local authorities said an elderly woman was injured after a Russian Gerbera drone hit a petrol station in the town of Koriukivka.
Petrol stations in the towns of Snovsk and Horodnia were also struck, while a tractor caught fire following a morning attack. In the Pryluky district, overnight drone strikes damaged buildings belonging to an agricultural company as well as office and utility facilities.
Ukraine recaptured more territory than it lost to Russian forces in May for the second straight month, an analysis of data from the Institute for the Study of War (ISW) carried out by the AFP news agency showed earlier this month.
Russia’s offensive has meanwhile led to rising prices, tax hikes, two-decade-high borrowing costs, business shutdowns and labour shortages, putting the economy in its trickiest spot since the full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022.