标签： Europe

On Sunday, UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer is set to host a high-stakes meeting at 10 Downing Street, bringing together Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, French President Emmanuel Macron, and German Chancellor Friedrich Merz to discuss continued European military and political support for Kyiv amid Russia’s ongoing full-scale invasion. The summit marks the second gathering of the three major European powers (known as the E3) with Zelensky since last December, as diplomatic momentum on the conflict shifts back to European capitals following the stall of U.S. mediation efforts.

Hours before the leaders convened, Ukraine confirmed a new Russian drone attack on a spent nuclear fuel storage facility adjacent to the closed Chornobyl nuclear plant in northern Ukraine. Ukrainian state nuclear operator Energoatom reported that the strike partially damaged the storage building and sparked a fire that was quickly extinguished by emergency crews. No casualties were reported, and official monitoring confirmed radiation levels remain within normal, safe limits. Despite the lack of a radiological incident, both Energoatom and Zelensky condemned the attack as a deliberate violation of nuclear safety norms. Zelensky labeled the strike “vile” in a social media post, emphasizing that the targeted site qualifies as extremely critical energy infrastructure.

The Chornobyl attack is part of a broader wave of Russian airstrikes across Ukraine that has intensified in recent days. In the southeastern region of Zaporizhzhia, local authorities reported that a separate Russian strike on a rural village killed at least three civilians, marking the second consecutive day of deadly attacks in the area—two civilians were also killed in Russian bombardments there on Saturday. Zelensky added context to the scale of recent Russian aggression, noting that over the past seven days, Moscow has launched 88 missiles, more than 3,200 drones, and 1,800 precision-guided bombs against targets across 13 Ukrainian regions.

The latest exchange of cross-border strikes follows two consecutive Ukrainian drone attacks on the St. Petersburg region in Russia last week, timed to coincide with Putin’s flagship annual economic forum. Ukrainian strikes hit targets on the opening and final days of the event, with Russian authorities describing the second attack as “unprecedented.” The strikes, which reached more than 1,000 kilometers from Ukrainian territory, demonstrate how far Ukraine’s domestic defense industry has advanced since Russia’s 2022 invasion, allowing Kyiv to regularly strike deep within Russian borders.

Sunday’s Downing Street meeting comes at a pivotal moment for Western support for Ukraine. The E3 group—comprising the UK, France, and Germany—remains among Kyiv’s most steadfast international backers. The UK and France currently lead the “coalition of the willing” initiative, which aims to craft binding security guarantees for Ukraine as a foundation for any future peace negotiation process. The last E3-Zelensky meeting was held in London last December, at a time when the United States was aggressively pushing for a rapid ceasefire deal between Moscow and Kyiv. Since that gathering, however, U.S. mediation efforts have stalled, and Washington’s foreign policy focus has shifted to escalating conflict in the Middle East.

Diplomatic progress hit a new roadblock late last week, when Russian President Vladimir Putin rejected Zelensky’s public call for face-to-face peace negotiations. Speaking on the final day of the St. Petersburg economic forum, Putin argued that a ceasefire would only allow Ukraine to rebuild its military forces and strengthen its position for future combat, repeating his longstanding stance that Russia will only end its offensive once it achieves its stated territorial and political goals. In his open letter calling for direct talks, Zelensky had argued that it would be irresponsible for Ukraine to simply wait for the United States to refocus its attention on the war, signaling that Kyiv is looking to European allies to take a leading role in moving the peace process forward in the interim.

LONDON – A high-stakes diplomatic meeting focused on the future of Western backing for Ukraine is set to take place in the British capital this Sunday, where Prime Minister Keir Starmer will host senior leaders from Ukraine, France and Germany to coordinate ongoing support for Kyiv amid the grinding war with Russia.

The summit brings together Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, French President Emmanuel Macron and newly installed German Chancellor Friedrich Merz, representing the E3 – Europe’s three most prominent heavyweight powers that have stood at the forefront of international support for Ukraine ever since Russia launched its full-scale invasion in February 2022. Both the United Kingdom and France currently lead the ‘coalition of the willing’ initiative, which works to deliver binding security guarantees for Ukraine as part of any future negotiated peace settlement.

Sunday’s talks come on the heels of a major development on the battlefield: a large-scale Ukrainian drone assault that targeted Saint Petersburg, Russia’s second-largest city, highlighting Kyiv’s steadily improving capacity to strike targets deep within Russian territory. The attack, carried out on Saturday, left three people with minor injuries according to local governor Alexander Beglov, who urged residents across the city to remain indoors for their safety during the incident.

The strike hit less than 24 hours after Saint Petersburg wrapped up its flagship annual economic forum, a event Russian President Vladimir Putin had used to frame the war in Ukraine as a distant conflict disconnected from everyday life in Russia. The assault delivered a public embarrassment for the Kremlin, undermining that narrative for both domestic and international audiences.

This exchange of long-range strikes comes as the overall front line in the war remains largely deadlocked, with mass drone deployments blunting any large-scale territorial advances from either side. Both Moscow and Kyiv have increasingly turned to deep strike operations to gain a strategic advantage more than four years after Russia’s full-scale invasion began, with no clear diplomatic or military end to the conflict in sight.

The meeting also follows a sharp rejection of diplomatic outreach from Putin, who turned down Zelenskyy’s recent public proposal for direct face-to-face negotiations in a neutral third country on Friday. Putin told reporters he saw “no point” in holding such talks at this time.

Separately, fresh violence was reported on Sunday morning when a Russian strike on the Ukrainian town of Balabyne, located in the southern Zaporizhzhia region, killed three civilians and wounded one more as they waited at a local bus stop. Ivan Fedorov, head of the region’s military administration, confirmed the attack in a post on his official Telegram channel.

This ongoing coverage of the Russia-Ukraine conflict is tracked by the Associated Press at https://apnews.com/hub/russia-ukraine.

YEREVAN, Armenia — As Armenians head to the polls for a critical parliamentary election Sunday, the small South Caucasus nation finds itself at a defining geopolitical turning point, with the incumbent government pushing to reorient its foreign policy away from historical reliance on Moscow toward deeper engagement with Western powers – a shift that has drawn escalating retaliation from the Kremlin.

Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan, who rose to power in 2018 on a wave of popular street protests, and his ruling Civil Contract party are seeking a solid parliamentary mandate to cement their new geopolitical course. They face a fragmented opposition largely dominated by factions that openly advocate for closer alignment with Russia.

In the weeks leading up to the vote, Russian authorities have imposed a sweeping set of trade restrictions on Armenian exports, covering everything from cut flowers, select cognac and wine varieties to fresh produce like eggplants and potatoes, dried fruit, and fish. Moscow claims the bans stem from violations of agricultural import standards, but the European Union has decried the measures as blatant political coercion. Beyond economic pressure, top Russian officials including President Vladimir Putin have issued thinly veiled warnings that echo the path that led to open conflict in Ukraine, drawing a direct parallel between Armenia’s Western overtures and Ukraine’s pre-2022 EU integration efforts.

“If the Armenian people see benefits in joining the European Union then we will certainly have nothing to say against it,” Putin told reporters following Russia’s May 9 Victory Day parade. He quickly added a sharp caveat, however: “We are currently living through everything that is happening in respect of Ukraine. And how did it start? It started with Ukraine’s joining or attempting to join the EU.” Putin has also stressed that Armenia cannot simultaneously remain a member of the Russian-led Eurasian Economic Union (EEU) and integrate with the EU’s customs union, calling the dual alignment “simply impossible by definition.” Moscow also retains major control over Armenia’s energy and infrastructure networks, and has regularly leveraged its supply of subsidized natural gas as a reminder of Armenia’s existing economic dependence.

In pre-election developments, Armenian law enforcement issued six arrest warrants for members of the pro-Russian opposition Strong Armenia party on the eve of the vote, alleging the group engaged in widespread vote-buying. The country’s Central Election Commission had previously rejected calls from another opposition faction, the Republic party, to bar Strong Armenia from running over corruption allegations, clearing the way for the party to participate. Strong Armenia is led by Armenian-Russian billionaire Samvel Karapetyan, who is currently under house arrest facing trial on charges of advocating for the overthrow of the Pashinyan government – charges Karapetyan dismisses as a politically motivated smear. He has overseen the party’s campaign from detention, with support from his nephew Narek Karapetyan. The faction frames Pashinyan’s course as a reckless push toward conflict with Russia and prioritizes expanding economic and political ties with Moscow.

Other key pro-Russian opposition contenders include former Armenian President Robert Kocharyan, leader of the Hayastan opposition bloc, who has accused Pashinyan of severely damaging Armenia’s long-standing relationship with Russia. Another major faction is the Prosperous Armenia Party, headed by pro-Russian business leader Gagic Tsarukyan. All major opposition groups have also blasted Pashinyan’s ongoing efforts to normalize relations with neighboring Azerbaijan, a process brokered in part by the West. The two countries have been locked in a decades-long dispute over the Karabakh region, which was held by ethnic Armenian forces backed by Armenia for nearly 30 years before Azerbaijan reclaimed full control of the entire territory in a 2023 military offensive. In August last year, Pashinyan and Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev initialed a framework for a peace deal at the White House, with U.S. President Donald Trump in attendance.

“I want this government to change because the condition of our country is getting worse,” Sahakyan Elina, a Prosperous Armenia supporter, told the Associated Press at an opposition rally Thursday. “I don’t want to live with my enemies in unity.”

Pashinyan has publicly framed his foreign policy as a balanced approach that aims to maintain positive relations with Russia, alongside building stronger ties with the U.S., Europe, and regional powers including Turkey and Iran. Despite this framing, his government has been received far more favorably in Western capitals than in Moscow. Notably, Donald Trump has publicly endorsed Pashinyan’s re-election bid, taking to social media to call the Armenian prime minister “a great friend and Leader” who “is making his Country strong, wealthy, and very secure,” and urging Armenian voters to “Make (Armenia) Great Again.”

Under Armenia’s electoral law, the 101-seat National Assembly is elected for five-year terms, with a 4% vote threshold for individual parties to gain representation, and an 8% threshold for multi-party blocs. A total of 17 individual parties and two electoral blocs are contesting Sunday’s vote. Most independent pollsters and regional analysts currently project that Pashinyan and Civil Contract will emerge from the election with a leading share of seats. “I think Armenians expect, first of all, a peaceful, independent and prosperous Armenia from this election, as we have today,” said Hripsime Grigoryan, an outgoing Civil Contract member of parliament.

PRISTINA, Kosovo — Kosovo’s 2 million eligible voters cast their ballots at polling stations across the small Balkan nation on Sunday, heading to the polls for the third early parliamentary election in just a year and a half. This latest electoral cycle was called to break a months-long institutional gridlock that has stalled the country’s bid for European Union and NATO accession, leaving key policy and governance initiatives on hold.

The current crisis traces its roots back to an inconclusive February 2025 election that left Kosovo without a fully functional governing administration for most of 2025, forcing a second snap vote that December. The latest impasse emerged after the Balkan country’s major political blocs failed to reach an agreement by a March deadline to select a successor for former President Vjosa Osmani, triggering the requirement for another round of national voting.

This extended period of political instability has hit Kosovo’s already fragile economy particularly hard. The country, one of the youngest and poorest in Europe, has already grappled with severe headwinds from the global energy crisis and soaring fuel prices in recent years. The ongoing institutional vacuum has also blocked Kosovo’s access to much-needed European Union and international development funds, deepening economic strain for ordinary citizens.

Kosovo’s modern political history has been shaped by its 2008 declaration of independence from Serbia, a step that came nine years after the 1998-1999 Kosovo War, which concluded with a NATO bombing campaign that forced Serbian military forces to withdraw from the territory. While the United States and most EU member states recognize Kosovo’s sovereignty, Serbia continues to claim the region as its own, backed by key allies Russia and China. Both Pristina and Belgrade have been明确 told by EU officials that normalizing bilateral relations is a non-negotiable prerequisite for advancing their respective EU membership applications.

The current governing party, Prime Minister Albin Kurti’s center-left Vetevendosje movement, has held a solid parliamentary majority since December’s early election. However, Kosovo’s constitution requires presidential candidates to win the support of at least 80 of the 120 members of the national assembly, meaning no candidate can secure the position without cross-party consensus that has remained out of reach throughout the crisis.

Kurti and Vetevendosje now face sharp challenges from the country’s two largest opposition blocs: the Democratic Party of Kosovo and the Democratic League of Kosovo (LDK). The opposition has levied accusations that Kurti is aggressively pursuing unilateral control over all of Kosovo’s governing institutions, a charge the ruling party has rejected. Former President Osmani, who fell out with Kurti after he refused to support her bid for a second presidential term, is running for parliament in this election as part of the LDK’s opposition candidate list.

As key political actors have traded blame for the ongoing deadlock, widespread frustration has bubbled up among Kosovo’s electorate. Voters across the country have repeatedly expressed that they want political leaders to set aside disagreements to focus on urgent priorities: boosting economic growth, raising living standards, and expanding access to jobs and public services, rather than being stuck in repeated cycles of electoral conflict.

Political analysts broadly agree that the outcome of Sunday’s vote is unlikely to deliver a major shakeup compared to December’s election, with few signs of a dramatic shift in voter support that would break the current balance of power between ruling and opposition blocs. Ahead of voting, European Council President António Costa used an official visit to Pristina last week to deliver a clear message: Kosovo’s political leaders must end the stalemate and unify around the shared national goal of EU integration to move the country forward.