What we're covering
• Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky will meet with European leaders in London today after talks in Miami between US and Ukrainian negotiators came to a halt Saturday with no breakthrough, according to Ukrainian officials.
• The summit comes after US President Donald Trump claimed Zelensky had not yet read the latest US proposal to end the war, adding he was a “little disappointed” in the Ukrainian leader.
• Meanwhile, Russia has praised the US’ new national security strategy, released last week. It took an unprecedentedly confrontational posture toward Europe, blaming officials on the continent for blocking US-backed efforts to end the conflict.
Scheduled power cuts leave many in Kyiv without electricity for 16 hours
People in the Ukrainian capital of Kyiv face 16 hours without power today due to scheduled power cuts caused by major Russian attacks on the nation’s energy infrastructure.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has scheduled the outages across the country. A feature of Ukrainian life since October, they are scheduled at varying intensities and were introduced into all regions yesterday.
Russia has launched more than 1,600 attack drones, around 1,200 guided aerial bombs and nearly 70 missiles against Ukraine in the first week of December, Zelensky said yesterday, adding that Russia’s primary objective is to target the infrastructure “that keeps everyday life going.”
One schedule for a Kyiv apartment block seen by CNN advises residents that electricity will be available for less than four hours in the morning, between 8 am and 11.30 a.m. local time (1 am - 4.30 a.m. ET) before switching off for most of the day and returning for less than four hours in the evening between 6.30 pm and 10 p.m. local time (11.30 a.m. - 3 p.m. ET.)
Who will be at today's meeting in London?
As we await today’s meeting between Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky and a number of European leaders in London, here’s what we can tell you about who is expected to be in attendance.
Zelensky is set to meet with the leaders of the United Kingdom, France and Germany - known collectively as the E3 - in the next couple of hours. British Prime Minister Keir Starmer, French President Emmanuel Macron and German Chancellor Friedrich Merz will be at Downing Street for the talks.
The gathering is a show of solidarity following the release of the US’ new national security strategy, which blames European officials for blocking American-backed efforts to end Russia’s war in Ukraine and assumes a more confrontational posture towards Europe as a whole.
Macron said over the weekend that the leaders will “take stock of the situation and the ongoing negotiations within the framework of the US mediation.”
“Europeans will necessarily be a key pillar of the just and lasting solution we are collectively building,” he said.
CNN’s Alejandra Jaramillo contributed to this reporting.
Donald Trump Jr. suggests US may walk away from Ukraine peace talks
Donald Trump Jr. suggested that President Donald Trump “may” walk away from Ukraine peace efforts over repeated allegations of corruption against several close allies of Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky.
Giving his reaction to CNN’s Fredricka Whitfield yesterday, Rep. Seth Moulton, a Democrat on the Ukrainian Caucus, said doing so would “be a gift to our adversaries.”
Kremlin hails Trump's national security strategy as “consistent with our vision"
More now from Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov, who has praised US President Donald Trump’s new national security strategy - as we’ve reported - for aligning with some of Moscow’s own views.
“The adjustments we are seeing, I would say, are, in many ways, consistent with our vision,” he said.
For context: In the 33-page document outlining the national security vision, the Trump administration sharply criticized Europe’s approach to handling security, the economy, and migration.
The change in the US’s stance could be a “modest guarantee” that the administration will continue working with Russia to resolve the war in Ukraine, Peskov said.
He also suggested that the so-called “deep state” could prevent Trump’s plans from taking shape.
“Therefore, of course, one needs to monitor very closely how this concept will be implemented,” Peskov said.
Trump claims Zelensky hasn't read peace proposal, as Kremlin praises US security strategy
The White House on Thursday quietly released President Donald Trump’s new national security strategy, a 33-page document that elevates his “America First” doctrine and sets out the administration’s realignment of US foreign policy. The document took an unprecedentedly confrontational posture toward Europe.
The strategy blames European officials for blocking US-backed efforts to end the conflict. It also dropped the language of past administrations describing Russia as a threat, 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.”
Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov appeared to applaud the strategy and praised the American president, calling him “strong.”
The document formalizes some of the administration’s previous criticism of Europe. In a speech in Munich, Germany, in February, Vice President JD Vance told European leaders that the biggest threat to their security was “from within,” rather than from China or Russia.
Following the release of the document, President Donald Trump criticized Zelensky yesterday as talks between US and Ukrainian negotiators over the weekend ended with few new developments.
He added that 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.”
Zelensky to meet with European leaders in London
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky will meet with European leaders in London today, after talks between US and Ukrainian officials in Miami to end the war ended with unresolved questions over security guarantees, territorial issues and continued concern that the US proposal tilts in Russia’s favor.
Kyiv maintains that a just end to the war must include dependable security commitments and would not require it to cede additional territory. Meanwhile, Russian President Vladimir Putin said earlier this week that he intends to seize Ukraine’s eastern Donbas region by any means.
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.
These issues will likely be on the table when Zelensky meets French President Emmanuel Macron, British Prime Minister Keir Starmer and German Chancellor Friedrich Merz.
The European leaders will “take stock together of the situation and the ongoing negotiations within the framework of the American mediation,” Macron said.
We’ll bring you the latest on these talks and any other developments as the day progresses.
