French President Emmanuel Macron, German Chancellor Friedrich Merz, and UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer will meet Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy in London on Sunday. The French presidency said the leaders will discuss increasing pressure on Russia as it suffers military, economic, and strategic setbacks in its invasion of Ukraine.
The meeting at Downing Street at around 5:30 pm will focus on achieving a just and lasting peace in Ukraine. Macron also announced the next meeting of the Coalition of the Willing, a group of about 25 countries pledging a multinational force in Ukraine after a peace deal, will take place in Paris on July 13-14.
Zelenskyy recently proposed a face-to-face meeting with Vladimir Putin in an open letter, calling for a full ceasefire, a move Macron called a "good initiative."
Overnight Russian strikes killed at least seven people, including four at a food processing plant near Kyiv that produced dairy products for children. Ukrainian forces shot down 198 of 216 drones and two missiles launched by Russia.
Ukraine recaptured more territory than it lost in May for the second consecutive month, according to an analysis by the Institute for the Study of War. Russia's economy, meanwhile, faces rising prices, tax hikes, and labor shortages, its most challenging period since the full-scale invasion began in February 2022.