Zelensky to Meet UK Leaders as Russia Strikes Nuclear Facility Near Chernobyl
Ukraine's president will hold talks in London with British, French and German officials after a Russian drone hit a spent‑fuel storage site near Chernobyl, an incident Kyiv says caused no injuries and stable radiation levels.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky is scheduled to meet British Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer, French President Emmanuel Macron and German Chancellor Friedrich Merz at Downing Street on Sunday to discuss continued European support for Kyiv. The talks come hours after Ukrainian officials reported that a Russian drone struck a storage facility for spent nuclear fuel near the Chernobyl nuclear power plant. The operator said the fire was extinguished, no one was injured and radiation levels remained normal. Zelensky described the attack as a deliberate strike on critical nuclear infrastructure and called it "vile" in a post on X.
In separate incidents, Russian attacks killed at least three people in a village outside Zaporizhzhia and caused additional casualties in the city itself, which has been under frequent bombardment. Ukrainian authorities said Moscow launched 88 missiles, more than 3,250 drones and 1,800 guided bombs across 13 regions in the past week.
The meeting in London involves the so‑called E3 group of Western allies, which has been coordinating security guarantees for Ukraine and discussing a possible peace framework. Earlier this year, Kyiv carried out drone strikes on the outskirts of St Petersburg, coinciding with a Russian economic forum.
Zelensky has also sent an open letter urging direct negotiations with Russian President Vladimir Putin, who recently rejected a proposal for face‑to‑face talks.
