By Kara Fox, Daria Tarasova-Markina, Tim Lister and Billy Stockwell, CNN
Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelensky, left, and French President Emmanuel Macron stand next to one another at a press conference at the Elysee Palace in Paris, France, on 1 December, 2025. Photo: Eliot Blondet/Pool/Sipa/AP via CNN Newsource
Negotiations over Ukraine peace continue
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky met with European leaders in London in a show of solidarity after US President Donald Trump accused him of not having read the latest proposal to end the war, and as the Kremlin praised America's tough new posture towards Europe.
Ahead of the talks in Downing Street on the "sensitive issues" of security guarantees for Ukraine and control of its eastern regions, Zelensky said it was urgent for Europeans and Americans to show "unity" in resisting Russian aggression and hastening an end to the conflict.
"There are some things which we can't manage without Americans, things we can't manage without Europe, and that's why we need to make some important decisions," Zelensky said.
British Prime Minister Keir Starmer hosted Zelensky with French President Emmanuel Macron and German Chancellor Friedrich Merz, who stressed: "We are still and remain strongly behind Ukraine... because we all know that the destiny of this country is the destiny of Europe."
But, following the publication of the Trump administration's new "America First" national security strategy that was deeply critical of Europe, there are fears that US interest in Ukraine's nearly four-year-old defence against Russia's invasion is dwindling.
Donald Trump Jr, the president's son, on Sunday suggested that Trump could walk away from Ukraine peace efforts. "What's unique about my father is you don't know what he's going to do," he said.
Also on Sunday, Trump had criticized Zelensky after talks between US and Ukrainian negotiators over the weekend in Miami ended with unresolved questions over security guarantees, territorial issues and continued concern that the US proposal tilts in Russia's favour. Trump later accused Zelensky of not having read the US' latest peace proposal, saying that had "disappointed" him.
Trump said Russia would prefer to have all of Ukraine and that he believes Moscow is "fine" with the peace plan, but "I'm not sure that Zelensky's fine with it."
On Monday, Zelensky said that the US had yet to reach agreement on the future of Ukraine's Donbas, which includes the regions of Donetsk and Luhansk.
He said Kyiv also wanted a separate agreement on security guarantees from Western allies, above all the US. "There is one question I - and all Ukrainians - want to get an answer to: If Russia again starts a war, what will our partners do," Zelensky said. "There are questions that concern Europe - and we cannot decide for Europe. We need to discuss with Europe Ukraine's membership in the EU, which is also part of security guarantees."
Zelensky added that he was ready to fly to the US "if the president is ready for such a meeting."
Trump's remarks came as the Kremlin welcomed his administration's new national security strategy, a foreign policy realignment that adopts an unprecedentedly confrontational posture toward Europe.
The US security strategy document, in contrast to past administrations, has dropped language that described Russia as a threat. The new document says European nations regard Moscow as "an existential threat," and casts Washington as the central broker in re-establishing "conditions of stability within Europe and strategic stability with Russia."
Speaking to reporters on Sunday, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov appeared to applaud the strategy and praised the American president, calling him "strong."
"The adjustments we are seeing, I would say, are, in many ways, consistent with our vision," Peskov said, adding: "Perhaps one can hope that this may be a modest guarantee that it will be possible to continue working constructively together to find a peaceful settlement for Ukraine, at the very least."
For European leaders, the timing is unsettling: the US is steering the Ukraine peace talks just as its posture toward Europe hardens, raising fears that this shift could influence negotiations at a critical moment.
Europe 'takes stock' of situation
The European leaders said they were meeting to "take stock" of the situation, after three days of talks between US and Ukrainian negotiators in Miami failed to produce a breakthrough.
"Difficult issues remain," Ukrainian Ambassador to the United States Olga Stefanishyna said Saturday, "but both sides continue working to shape realistic and acceptable solutions."
As the diplomatic to-and-fro continues, Russia launched one of its largest barrages of drones and missiles in months across Ukraine, killing at least seven people over the weekend, according to a CNN tally of local authority figures. More than a dozen more were injured.
In the past week, Russia has launched over 1,600 attack drones, around 1,200 guided aerial bombs and nearly 70 missiles against Ukraine, Zelensky said Sunday. He said the primary targets of the strikes were the infrastructure "that keeps everyday life going."
The strikes targeted energy infrastructure in various regions over the weekend, according to the Ukrainian Ministry of Energy. Consumers in the Odesa, Chernihiv, Kyiv, Kharkiv, Dnipropetrovsk and Mykolaiv regions were without power on Saturday, the ministry said. And on Sunday, power cut schedules were introduced in all regions of Ukraine, including in Kyiv, where residents of the capital were without electricity for about 12 hours.
Ukraine's military said Saturday that it had hit the Ryazan oil refinery in western Russia, one of the country's largest refineries, in an overnight attack. Moscow did not immediately respond to the claims.
Meanwhile, investigations are underway in Ireland and France after two more incidents this week involving unidentified drones flying close to the coastlines of each country, marking the latest in a string of unexplained sightings in several European countries since September. European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen has called the spate of drone incursions "hybrid warfare."
Early last week, several drones were seen flying off the coast of Dublin, just as a plane carrying Zelensky for a visit with the Irish premiere was about to land.
CNN's Jessie Yeung, Max Saltman, Jennifer Hansler and Alejandra Jaramillo contributed reporting.
- CNN