On a Sunday evening in June, Volodymyr Zelenskyy stood outside 10 Downing Street and vowed that Ukraine would not "silently die." Hours earlier, a Russian drone had struck a storage centre for spent nuclear fuel just nine miles from the Chornobyl power plant. Inside, Keir Starmer, Emmanuel Macron and Friedrich Merz joined the Ukrainian president to discuss what Downing Street called "the urgent need to scale up" Ukraine's air defences.
The meeting brought together the so-called E3 group of nations – the UK, France and Germany – Ukraine's staunchest European allies. The leaders condemned Russia's large-scale missile and drone attacks, including the repeated use of Oreshnik hypersonic weapons. They called on Vladimir Putin to agree "an immediate and complete ceasefire" with the current line of contact as a starting point for negotiations. The UK and France are leading a "coalition of the willing" initiative to provide security guarantees for Ukraine.
“Explains Ukraine's urgent need for air defences after a summit of UK, French and German leaders in London.”
This latest push for support comes after more than three years of full-scale war. Russia's invasion has seen relentless bombing of Ukrainian cities and critical infrastructure. In the week before the London meeting, Putin rejected Zelenskyy's proposal for face-to-face talks, saying he saw "no point" in a meeting. The Russian drone strike near Chornobyl was described as "deeply concerning" by the head of the International Atomic Energy Agency, Rafael Grossi, who said the agency would visit the site soon.
The E3 leaders outlined a five-point path to peace. It starts with an immediate ceasefire and demands that international borders cannot be changed by force. Ukraine must receive "robust and legally binding" security guarantees – including the deployment of a multinational force. Russian assets would remain immobilised until Putin ends the war and compensates Ukraine. Finally, European security interests must be safeguarded in any deal.
For UK readers, this matters directly. Britain is one of Ukraine's most active military backers, supplying weapons, training and intelligence. The cost of the war affects energy prices, inflation and global stability. A Russian strike on a nuclear storage site – even one that did not release radiation – raises the spectre of a nuclear incident that could endanger Europe. The UK's leadership in the "coalition of the willing" also means British forces could be part of any future peacekeeping mission.
Q: What are Oreshnik missiles and why are they a concern? Oreshnik are hypersonic weapons fired by Russia at Ukraine. They travel at extreme speeds, making them very difficult to intercept, and have been used in recent large-scale attacks on Ukrainian cities.
Q: What is the 'coalition of the willing'? It is an initiative led by the UK and France to provide security guarantees for Ukraine after the war, potentially including a multinational force to protect the country and deter future Russian aggression.
Q: Why was the drone strike near Chornobyl significant? The strike damaged a storage centre for spent nuclear fuel. While no radiation leak was reported, the International Atomic Energy Agency called it "deeply concerning" because any damage to nuclear facilities could trigger a radiological disaster.
The next milestone comes at the G7 summit in Evian on 15 June, where leaders will seek to drum up more support for Ukraine, push for further economic sanctions and increase military pledges ahead of the Nato summit in July. Zelenskyy is also scheduled to meet King Charles on Monday. Meanwhile, the E3 leaders have backed a proposal for direct dialogue between Ukraine and Russia with active US and European participation, though Putin has so far rejected talks.