European leaders voice 'urgent need' to bolster Ukraine's defenses
against ballistic missiles
[June 08, 2026]
By PAN PYLAS
LONDON (AP) — The leaders of the U.K., Ukraine, France and Germany
discussed the “urgent need” to ramp up production of weapons to combat
Russia's powerful hypersonic Oreshnik ballistic missiles in a meeting in
London on Sunday.
British Prime Minister Keir Starmer hosted Ukrainian leader Volodymyr
Zelenskyy, French President Emmanuel Macron and German Chancellor
Friedrich Merz at 10 Downing Street.
In a statement released by Starmer's office following their evening
meeting, the leaders condemned Russia’s “large-scale missile and drone
attacks — including the repeated use of the Oreshnik missiles — on
Ukrainian cities with a tragic toll on civilians." They also condemned
Russia's “irresponsible and dangerous Russian drone incursions” into
NATO territory, including last month's in Romania.
Russia has stepped up its aerial campaign against Ukraine recently, most
notably with the launch of the Oreshnik missiles.
“The leaders underlined the urgent need to scale up the production of
interceptors and co-develop anti-ballistic missile and deep strike
capabilities," the leaders said.
No details, financial or otherwise, on how this would be done were
provided.
Ukraine’s shortage of air defense systems, in part because of the
depletion of U.S. stocks during the Iran war, has left civilians
especially vulnerable to ballistic missiles, even as Kyiv’s defenses
stop most of Moscow’s drones and its forces have made advances elsewhere
on the battlefield.
The worry for Ukrainians is that the Iran war, which has been in
abeyance for weeks, may now reignite after Iran launched missiles on
Sunday at Israel in the first such bombardment since a fragile ceasefire
took effect in early April, complicating mediation efforts for a deal to
end the war.
Following their meeting in London, the European leaders called on
Russian President Vladimir Putin to agree “an immediate and complete
ceasefire” with the current line of contact as a starting point for any
negotiations.
The U.K., France and Germany, the so-called E3 group of European
nations, have been prominent backers of Ukraine following Russia’s
full-scale invasion in February 2022. The U.K. and France lead the
“coalition of the willing” initiative to provide security guarantees for
Ukraine as part of a peace process.
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Britain's Prime Minister Keir Starmer, second from right, France's
President Emmanuel Macron, right, Ukraine's President Volodymyr
Zelenskyy, second from left, and Germany's Chancellor Friedrich Merz
pose on the doorstep of 10 Downing Street after their meeting in
London, Sunday, June 7, 2026. (AP Photo/Alberto Pezzali)
The meeting comes in the wake of a Russian drone strike that killed
three people waiting at a bus stop in southeastern Ukraine. A
separate drone strike damaged a storage center for spent nuclear
fuel in the Kyiv region, just 15 kilometers (9 miles) from the
Chernobyl nuclear power plant, Ukraine’s General Staff said. The
attack sparked a fire that was extinguished within an hour.
Radiation remains within safe levels, officials said.
The International Atomic Energy Agency chief Rafael Grossi said the
incident was “deeply concerning” due to the large amounts of nuclear
material held at the facility. He said in a statement that the
agency would visit the site of the attack soon.
The Russian attacks follow a large-scale Ukrainian drone attack on
Saturday that targeted Saint Petersburg, Russia’s second-largest
city, underscoring Kyiv’s growing ability to hit deep inside Russia.
With the front line barely moving as swarms of drones hinder
advances, both sides have sought an edge by launching long-range
strikes.
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Associated Press writer Katie Marie Davies in Manchester, England,
contributed to this report.
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