As Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine continues into its fifth year, British Prime Minister Keir Starmer hosted Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky and European partners for talks on support for Kiev.
German Chancellor Friedrich Merz and French President Emmanuel Macron were present at the meeting.
Together, the three European leaders lead an informal security alliance known as the E3, which is one of Ukraine’s main sources of international support.
In a joint statement, they expressed their support for a proposal for direct talks between Zelensky and Russian President Vladimir Putin – with US and European participation – to try to secure a ceasefire.
“The leaders appreciated President Zelensky’s call to end the war through diplomatic means, as outlined in his letter to the President,” the statement said, referring to an open letter Zelensky wrote to Putin last week that proposed a face-to-face meeting between the two.
The letter was rejected by the Russian leader, who said the proposal was not insincere.
Putin said he sees “no point” in meeting Zelensky until a possible peace deal is agreed upon.
Zelensky tells Starmer, Ukraine needs more missiles
Meanwhile, Zelensky – who joined European leaders in Downing Street – said he told the UK starmer that Kiev needs additional missiles for air defense systems.
“I informed Kiir about the need for additional missiles for air defense systems and important things for the protection of energy infrastructure and preparations for the winter,” the Ukrainian leader wrote on Twitter.
After Sunday’s talks, Starmer, Merz and Macron stressed that Europe would have a key role in any deal as a staunch supporter of Kiev.
The UK and France also lead the so-called “Coalition of the Willing” initiative to provide security guarantees for Ukraine as part of the peace process, while Germany provides the most support to Kiev outright.
Russian drone attacks nuclear-fuel storage facility
Ukrainian officials said on Sunday that while negotiations were underway, a Russian drone struck a storage facility for spent nuclear fuel near the disused Chernobyl plant.
The United Nations’ nuclear watchdog, the IAEA, said it had received information about the attack and that radiation levels at the site remained stable.
The facility is located about 15 kilometers (9 mi) from the Chernobyl plant, which was the site of the world’s worst nuclear disaster in 1986.
The event comes as British Prime Minister Keir Starmer is set to host the leaders of Ukraine, France and Germany to discuss ongoing support for Ukraine in the fight against Russian full-scale aggression.
What do we know about the attack?
Kyiv’s General Staff and the state nuclear agency issued separate statements on the incident, saying that a container receiving building was partially destroyed in the attack.
He said there was no spent fuel at the facility at the time of the attack.
The fire that broke out after the attack was successfully extinguished, with no casualties reported.
In a statement, the IAEA said a team would soon visit the site “to observe the impact.”
Zelensky called the attack ‘extremely disgusting’
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky called the attack “an extremely vicious Russian attack”.
“Today, the Russians again attacked the special zone around the Chernobyl nuclear power plant. A ‘martyr’ hit one of the buildings of the centralized spent fuel storage facility,” he wrote on X, referring to a common Russian attack drone.
Ukraine’s Foreign Minister Andriy Sibiha wrote on Twitter that this is not the first time that Russia has threatened nuclear facilities in Ukraine.
“Russia’s nuclear blackmail and threats to nuclear security are systemic, deliberate, and unacceptable,” he wrote on X.
In February 2025, a control arch at the damaged Chernobyl reactor was hit by a Russian drone in an attack denied by Moscow.
Both sides have also accused the other of attacking the Russian-held Zaporizhia nuclear power plant in southeastern Ukraine.
Russia-backed official says one killed in drone attack on train in Ukraine
Meanwhile, a Ukrainian drone attack on a passenger train on Monday killed one of its drivers and injured another, a Moscow-backed official said.
As a result of an enemy drone attack on the locomotive of a passenger train on the Moscow-Simferopol route, according to preliminary data, the driver is injured and the assistant driver is killed, Moscow-established head of the Crimean region Sergei Aksyonov said in a post on Telegram.
He said that no passenger was harmed in the attack.
Edited by: Dmytro Lyubenko, Rana Taha
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