Zelenskyy Meets E3 Leaders in London as War Escalates

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy arrived in London on Sunday for emergency talks with British Prime Minister Keir Starmer, French President Emmanuel Macron and German Chancellor Friedrich Merz, as the E3 group of European nations convened to discuss continued support for Ukraine amid intensifying cross-border attacks. The meeting comes just days after a Russian drone strike partially destroyed a spent nuclear fuel storage building at the Chernobyl exclusion zone, prompting the International Atomic Energy Agency to dispatch an inspection team to assess the damage. Zelensky condemned the attack as a deliberate and "vile Russian strike," while Ukrainian officials reported that radiation levels remained stable following the incident. The timing of the diplomatic gathering underscores the escalating nature of the conflict, which entered its fifth year following Russia's full-scale invasion in February 2022. Hours before the leaders met, Ukrainian drones targeted St. Petersburg, Russia's second-largest city, during a major economic forum in what Russian authorities described as an unprecedented attack. Meanwhile, Russian forces continued their relentless bombardment of Ukrainian territory, with strikes killing at least five people across multiple regions including Zaporizhzhia and Dnipropetrovsk on Saturday and Sunday. On Friday, Russian President Vladimir Putin rejected Zelensky's open letter proposing direct negotiations, stating he saw "no point" in meeting the Ukrainian leader and reiterating he would only end hostilities once Russia's objectives were achieved. The E3 nations, comprising the United Kingdom, France and Germany, have been among Kyiv's strongest allies since the invasion began. The UK and France currently lead the "coalition of the willing" initiative aimed at providing security guarantees for Ukraine as part of any future peace process. Ukraine is seeking additional ammunition for its air defense systems as it faces daily Russian strikes, while diplomatic efforts mediated by the United States have largely stalled and shifted focus toward the conflict in the Middle East. Russia currently occupies approximately one-fifth of Ukrainian territory, including Crimea, most of the eastern Donetsk and Lugansk regions, and large parts of the southern Zaporizhzhia and Kherson regions.