LONDON – Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy is scheduled to visit London on Tuesday for discussions with U.K. Prime Minister Keir Starmer, according to an announcement from the British government. As the conflict in Iran captures global leaders’ attention, European nations aim to keep the focus on Russia’s ongoing invasion of Ukraine.
NATO Secretary-General Mark Rutte will also participate in the discussions at 10 Downing Street, as confirmed by Starmer’s office. The talks will center on efforts to secure peace in Ukraine and emphasize the importance of maintaining sanctions on Russia.
This meeting follows a recent decision by the U.S. to temporarily relax certain sanctions on Russian oil, aiming to alleviate the strain on global supplies caused by the Middle East conflict, which erupted due to joint U.S.-Israeli military actions against Iran that began on February 28.
Zelenskyy has voiced criticism of Washington’s decision to ease these sanctions, arguing that it could result in financial gains for Moscow, enabling continued assaults on Ukraine.
U.S. President Donald Trump has expressed a desire to broker a peace agreement that would end the largest conflict in Europe since World War II. European leaders remain concerned about Russia’s potential as a security threat to the European Union by the decade’s end.
However, the U.S.-led negotiations between Moscow and Kyiv have stalled, with little progress on crucial matters, as the escalating situation in the Middle East diverts attention.
At the same time, Trump has spurned Zelenskyy’s offer of help for the United States and its Persian Gulf partners in fighting Iranian drones. Ukraine has become one of the world’s leading producers of high-tech, battle-tested drone interceptors.
British officials say that Russia and Iran are collaborating on drone technology and tactics in the Middle East. Drone combat experts from the U.K. and Ukraine have been sent to the region to help Iran’s neighbors repel its drone attacks.
Starmer’s office said the U.K. and Ukraine will sign a deal combining “Ukraine’s expertise and the U.K.’s industrial base to manufacture and supply drones and innovative capabilities.” Britain is also funding an “AI Center of Excellence” in conjunction with the Ukrainian Ministry of Defense.
Starmer said in a statement that “drones, electronic warfare and rapid battlefield innovation are now central to national and economic security, and that has only been further magnified by the conflict in the Middle East.”
“By deepening our defense partnerships, we are strengthening Ukraine’s ability to defend itself from Russia’s brutal, ongoing attacks, while ensuring the U.K. and our allies are better prepared to meet the threats of the future.”
Russia’s Defense Ministry said Tuesday that its air defenses intercepted and destroyed 206 Ukrainian drones overnight over Russian regions, the annexed Crimean Peninsula and the Azov Sea. A total of 40 intercepted drones were flying towards Moscow, the ministry said.
Asked about an increase in Ukrainian drone attacks on Moscow over the past few days, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said that the authorities in Kyiv were “continuing absolutely futile resistance” against Russia’s invasion.
Zelenskyy said late Monday that counterattacks by Ukrainian forces at eastern and southern points along the front line have wrecked Moscow’s plans for a March offensive.
His comments couldn’t be independently verified, but the Institute for the Study of War, a Washington-based think tank, said Monday that Ukrainian counterattacks “are likely constraining” some Russian offensive operations.
Ukraine’s air force said that Russia launched 178 long-range drones of various types across the country overnight starting late Monday, with 154 of them either intercepted or jammed while 22 more struck their targets.
In the southern Ukraine city of Zaporizhzhia, a Russian strike damaged a terminal of Ukraine’s biggest private delivery company, Nova Poshta, the company said on Telegram. Eight people were wounded, according to Ivan Fedorov, the head of the regional military administration.
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Illia Novikov contributed to this report from Kyiv, Ukraine.
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