Ukraine: Zelenskyy in UK for talks with allies on missiles

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy met with leaders from the "Coalition of the Willing" nations and called for allies to introduce sanctions against more Russian oil companies to disrupt Moscow's ability to fund its war.

Zelenskyy met with leaders across European nations this week, asking allies for air defenses and more funding as the conflict heads into its fourth winter.

We'll be back over the weekend with the latest in Russia's war in Ukraine. 

Kirill Dmitriev, Russian President Vladimir Putin's special envoy for investment and
economic cooperation, said he believes the US, Ukraine, and Russia are close to a diplomatic solution to end the war in Ukraine.

"I believe Russia and the U.S. and Ukraine actually quite close to a diplomatic solution. It's a big move by President Zelenskiy to already acknowledge that it's about battle lines," Dmitriev said on CNN's "The Lead with Jake Tapper."

"You know, his previous position was that Russia should leave completely so actually, I think we are reasonably close to a diplomatic solution that can be worked out," he added. 

UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer called for Kyiv's allies to move ahead with plans to seize frozen Russian assets and use them to fund Ukraine.

"The UK is ready to move in tandem with the EU to drive this forward as fast as possible, to get those funds flowing to Ukraine," he said, calling on Ukraine's allies to "finish the job."

He also urged the "Coalition of the Willing" convened in London to do more to bolster Ukraine's long-range missile reach.

"I think there's further we can do on capability, particularly... long-range capability, and of course, the vital work for coalition of the willing when it comes to the security guarantees that are necessary," he said.

He rejected Russian demands for territorial concessions from Kyiv as part of a potential peace agreement, calling them "ludicrous" and a "non-starter."

EU leaders have yet to agree on using frozen Russian assets to fund Ukraine, with Belgium in particular warning of the potential legal implications of such a move.

While Ukraine's European allies are reaffirming their support for Kyiv, Russia is reportedly sending a top envoy to the United States for talks this weekend.

According to US broadcaster CNN, Kirill Dmitriev, who heads the Russian Direct Investment Fund (RDIF), has arrived in the US for "official talks."

Dmitriev is expected to meet with officials from the Trump administration, including White House special envoy Steve Witkoff.

The visit comes days after US President Donald Trump abruptly suspended plans for a Budapest summit with Vladimir Putin, with Trump saying he didn't want the meeting to be a "waste of time."

Trump also imposed sanctions on Russia for the first time since he returned to the White House, targeting Russia's two main oil companies.

British Prime Minister Keir Starmer has repeated the UK's unwavering support for Ukraine in its defense against Russia.

Starmer was speaking inside Downing Street alongside Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy ahead of bilateral talks and a meeting of the so-called "coalition of the willing" on Friday afternoon.

"We reaffirm again our support for you and Ukraine, and our absolute commitment to meeting the challenge of Russian aggression," Starmer told Zelenskyy.

The British leader praised Zelenskyy for the "willingness," "courage" and "determination" he and Ukraine have shown in trying to find an end to the war.

Starmer said the talks on Friday would hone in on Russia's oil and gas sectors, as well as doing more on providing Ukraine with "long-range capability" in the form of missiles and weapons.

The UK leader slammed Russian President Vladimir Putin, who he said had only shown "an absolute unwillingness to engage" in meaningful peace talks.

"We stand, as we have always stood, as your closest supporter and ally," Starmer told Zelenskyy.

What did Zelenskyy say?

Ukraine's president, meanwhile, thanked Starmer, King Charles and the people of the UK "for the big support."

He agreed with Starmer's assessment that Putin has shown no signs that he "wants to stop the war," and was instead set on "pushing Ukraine to humanitarian disaster" by targeting the country's "energy and water supplies."

The Ukrainian president said the talks on Friday afternoon would also focus on Ukraine's allies providing security guarantees and increased support for its air defense and energy infrastructure.

"I am very thankful to you that we are not alone," Zelenskyy told Starmer.

After spending the morning with King Charles, Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has arrived at Downing Street, where he was warmly welcomed by UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer.

The pair hugged outside Number 10 before exchanging a few words while posing for photos.

Starmer and Zelenskyy are holding the latest round of talks of the "coalition of the willing" on Friday afternoon.

The prime ministers of Denmark, Mette Frederiksen, and Dick Schoof of the Netherlands, as well as NATO chief Mark Rutte, are attending the talks in person.

More than 20 other leaders are set to take part in the talks remotely, Downing Street said.

A man detonated a grenade at a train station in central Ukraine, police said, killing himself and at least three others.

Twelve other people were injured in the incident.

In a statement, Ukraine's national police said officers were checking passengers' documents on a railway platform in Ovruch, in the Zhytomyr region, when a 23-year-old detonated the explosive device.

Police investigations were underway, a press officer for the regional police force told Ukrainian media.

According to the state-run Ukrinform, the man who detonated the grenade, who has not been identified, was wanted by police.

Ukraine's Volodymyr Zelenskyy has arrived in the United Kingdom ahead of a meeting of the Coalition of the Willing, hosted by Prime Minister Keir Starmer.

Ahead of that meeting on Friday afternoon, Zelenskyy met with King Charles III at Windsor Castle.

The British monarch has frequently expressed his support for Ukraine, which he said had withstood "indescribable aggression" from Russia.

The Ukrainian leader was given a royal salute and an honor guard at the royal residence outside London. The national anthem of Ukraine was also played during the welcome ceremony.

This is the pair's third meeting this year. King Charles hosted Zelenskyy at his private estate at Sandringham in March. The Ukrainian leader also visited in June, when he met Charles at Windsor.

A Ukrainian drone attack on a city near Moscow injured at least five people, regional officials said Friday.

One child was among the injured in the attack, which struck a high-rise apartment building in Krasnogorsk, a northwest suburb of the Russian capital, Moscow Region's Governor Andrey Vorobyov said.

"The adults suffered head injuries, fractures and shrapnel wounds, while the child had a sprained knee and minor injuries to the lower leg," Vorobyov said on Telegram. 

Residents told Russian state news agency TASS that the explosion was "very powerful."

Three apartments in the building were damaged in the attack, while around 70 people were evacuated, the regional governor said.

Russia's Defense Ministry said 111 Ukrainian drones had been shot down over 13 regions, mostly in southern Russia. One drone was downed over Moscow.

Ukraine regularly launches drone attacks on Russian territory, most of which target military sites or energy production facilities.

Germany's Minister of Economy and Energy, Katherina Reiche, visited Ukraine on Friday for a three-day trip aimed at strengthening Berlin's support for Kyiv's defenses.

Reiche, who traveled to the Ukrainian capital with a business delegation, was expected to pledge Germany's continued backing to help Ukraine get through the upcoming winter, as Russia continues to target the country's energy infrastructure.

"We will do everything we can to ensure Ukraine gets through this winter," Reiche told reporters as she arrived by train in Kyiv.

On the first day of her visit, Reiche held meetings with her Ukrainian counterpart, Svitlana Hrynchuk, and Prime Minister Yulia Svyrydenko.

In a statement issued ahead of her arrival, Reiche said she would explore how Berlin can provide "even more concrete and better support" for Ukraine amid Russia's "targeted attacks" on its energy supply.

Hungary is working on ways to "circumvent" US sanctions on Russian oil companies Lukoil and Rosneft, Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban told state radio Friday.

Hungary was the only EU member that did not back a joint statement vowing financial support for Kyiv after a late-night summit Thursday.

Orban said in an interview with Kossuth radio Friday morning that he had discussed the issue with Hungarian oil and gas firm MOL.

The Hungarian leader, Russian President Vladimir Putin's strongest backer within the EU, has repeatedly refused to follow Western sanctions on Moscow.

Hungary, which borders Ukraine, is heavily reliant on Russia for its oil imports.

Trump, who has unsuccessfully tried to bring Vladimir Putin to the negotiating table, has hardened his stance amid a lack of progress on peace talks.

Last week, the US president announced new sanctions on the Russian energy firms on Wednesday, the first time he has sanctioned Moscow since returning to the White House in January this year.

The United Kingdom is set to host a meeting of Ukraine's European allies in London on Friday, with Prime Minister Keir Starmer expected to urge the so-called coalition of the willing to provide Kyiv with more long-range missiles.

Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelenskyy is heading to London to attend the talks as Western pressure continues to mount on Moscow to end the full-scale invasion it launched in February 2022. 

Danish Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen, Dutch Prime Minister Dick Schoof, as well as the NATO Secretary General, Mark Rutte, are set to attend the meeting in person.

A further 20 leaders will join the meeting remotely, Downing Street said.

As the conflict enters its fourth winter, the European Union and the US this week announced fresh sanctions targeting Russia's energy sector.

In a statement, Downing Street said the meeting in London on Friday afternoon comes with Russian President Vladimir Putin proving "yet again that he is not serious about" peace, pointing to the fact that the Kremlin chief had failed to "engage" with US President Donald Trump's most recent proposals for "meaningful talks" in Budapest.

Trump shelved those plans last week, saying he didn't want a meeting with Putin "to be a waste of time."

At Friday's meeting, Starmer is expected to urge the leaders of Ukraine's allies to put Kyiv in the "strongest possible position going into winter" by removing Russian oil and gas from the global market, unlock billions in frozen Russian assets to help fund Ukraine's defense, boost its long-range capabilities and help protect Ukraine's energy infrastructure from Russian attacks.

"Time and again we offer Putin the chance to end his needless invasion, to stop the killing and recall his troops, but he repeatedly rejects those proposals and any chance of peace," Starmer said.

"From the battlefield to the global markets, as Putin continues to commit atrocities in Ukraine we must ratchet up the pressure on Russia and build on President Trump's decisive action," the UK leader added.

EU leaders delayed a controversial decision on turning frozen Russian assets into cash for Kyiv, but greenlit fresh sanctions on Russian fossil fuels.

At the end of summit in Brussels that went long into the night on Thursday, there was no endorsement of a massive loan for Ukraine that some states had been pushing for. Instead, leaders issued a much vaguer commitment to "addressing Ukraine's pressing financial needs" for the next two years, and vowed to revisit the issue of Russian assets in December.

Read more about whether the bloc just took a took a cautious step toward using frozen Russian assets to fund Kyiv, or kicked the can down the road.

Meanwhile, North Korea had held a groundbreaking ceremony for a memorial for its soldiers killed fighting alongside Russian troops in Russia's war with Ukraine, state KCNA news agency said on Friday.

North Korean leader Kim Jong Un hailed what he called a "historic peak" in ties with Russia at the ceremony for the Memorial Museum of Combat Feats in the capital, Pyongyang.

"Pyongyang will always be with Moscow. Our friendship and unity will last forever," Kim said.

Kim said the museum "is a sacred sanctuary dedicated to the immortality of true patriots."

The memorial will feature sculptures dedicated to the North Korean soldiers who have fought in Russia, as well as photos and artwork portraying the combat, Kim said.

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German Chancellor Friedrich Merz said he assumes that Rosneft's German unit will be granted an exemption from Washington's latest sanctions on the oil company.

Rosneft's German business is controlled by German authorities but is Russian-owned. It is a key supplier, routing and refining oil to petrol pumps and some airports in Europe's biggest economy.

"We will discuss this with the Americans. I assume that Rosneft will be granted an ... exemption," Merz said.

The US on Wednesday announced massive new sanctions on Russia's oil industry in an attempt to get Russian President Vladimir Putin to the negotiating table and end Moscow's war on Ukraine.