European leaders will meet Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy at Downing Street in London to discuss increasing pressure on Russia as it faces military setbacks in Ukraine.
The meeting, set to start at 6:30 p.m. CEST, brings together 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.
The Kremlin rejected the proposal, with Putin calling the letter "rude" and dismissing the idea of a face-to-face meeting. The announcement came after Ukraine carried out a large-scale drone attack on St Petersburg, highlighting Kyiv's ability to strike deep inside Russian territory.
On Sunday, Zelenskyy accused Russia of targeting critical nuclear infrastructure, stating that while radiation levels remained normal, there was an increase in Russia's brazenness. He called for new steps by the world so that Russians feel their terrorist war is a blow to Russia itself.
Russia launched 236 drones against Ukraine overnight, 215 of which were intercepted or jammed, according to the Ukrainian Air Force. Seventeen drones reached their targets across 13 locations, with debris causing damage in nine other areas. An elderly woman was injured in Chernihiv region after a Russian drone hit a petrol station.
Ukraine recaptured more territory than it lost in May for the second straight month, according to an analysis of data from the Institute for the Study of War. Russia's offensive has led to rising prices, tax hikes, two-decade-high borrowing costs, and labor shortages, putting the economy in its trickiest spot since the invasion began in February 2022.