L to R: Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelensky; UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer; French President Emmanuel Macron; and German Chancellor Friedrich Merz in front of 10 Downing Street, London, December 8, 2025 (Kin Cheung/AP)

EA on LBC: Ukraine’s Attacks Ruin Putin’s St. Petersburg Party

Saturday’s Coverage: Putin Rejects Zelensky Letter For Meeting To End Invasion

UPDATE 0859 GMT:

At least seven civilians have been murdered and 61 injured by Russian attacks across Ukraine over the past 24 hours.

Air defenses downed 215 of 236 drones, but 17 hit 13 locations.

In the Zaporizhzhia region in the south, a taxi driver was killed when his vehicle was “hunted” by the Russians with a first-person-view drone. Another 25 people were injured across the region.

In the Donetsk region in the east, two civilians were slain and five injured.

In the Mykolaiv region in the south, one person was killed and five wounded amid attacks by FPV and strike drones.

In the Kharkiv region in the northeast, one civliian was murdered and five injured. In the neighboring Sumy region, one person was slain and four wounded.

Casualties were also reported in the Kherson region.

UPDATE 0852 GMT:

A Russian drone strike has damaged part of the spent nuclear fuel storage facility at the Chornobyl plant.

Ukraine’s state nuclear operator Energoatom reported the strike at around 2:10 a.m., partially destroying the facility’s container reception building. No spent nuclear fuel was being stored at the time.

A fire covering around 40 square meters (430 square feet) broke out and was extinguished. No staff were injured, and radiation levels at the site remain within normal limits.

The facility provides long-term storage for spent nuclear fuel from Ukraine’s operating nuclear power plants. Chornobyl has been dormant since and explosion in April 1986.

Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelensky posted:

UPDATE 0848 GMT:

Overnight Ukrainian drone strikes have hit an oil depot in Russian-occupied Crimea, setting it afire, and energy and railway infrastructure in the occupied Luhansk and Donetsk regions in the east of the country.

ORIGINAL ENTRY: Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelensky will confer with French President Emmanuel Macron and German Chancellor Friedrich Merz, in a meeting hosted by UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer, in London on Sunday.

European leaders are seeking to open a channel to Vladimir Putin, after the Trump Administration walked away from Ukraine-Russia-US talks, to establish a ceasefire based on current frontlines.

The leaders are also expected to discuss support for Ukraine against Moscow’s ongoing missile and drone strikes on civilian areas; Ukrainian counter-attacks seizing the initiative inside Russia; and security guarantees for Kyiv.

On Thursday, Zelensky posted an open letter to Vladimir Putin proposing a face-to-face meeting. A day later, Putin rejected the approach as “rude” and said he would continue the quest to seize Ukrainian territory, including the Donetsk region in the east of the country.

Zelensky’s letter was accompanied by a powerful sign of Ukraine’s move from resistance to strength with attacks damaging energy and military facilities in St. Petersburg.

The strikes bookended the Kremlin’s showcase St. Petersburg International Economic Forum, which Putin addressed on Friday.