Zelenskyy will discuss the Russia-Ukraine war with the British leader and NATO chief

London — Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky will arrive in London on Tuesday for talks with UK Prime Minister Keir Stormer, the British government said, as European countries look to keep international attention on Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, while the Iran war has engaged world leaders.

NATO Secretary-General Mark Rutte will meet at 10 Downing St to discuss peace-building efforts in Ukraine and “the need to maintain sanctions pressure on Russia”, Stormer’s office said.

The meeting comes days after the US temporarily waived some Russian oil sanctions in an effort to ease pressure on global supplies triggered by war in the Middle East caused by joint US-Israeli strikes on Iran since February 28.

Zelensky criticized Washington’s move to ease sanctions, saying it would give Moscow a windfall to continue its attacks on Ukraine.

US President Donald Trump has said he wants to secure a peace deal to end Europe’s biggest conflict since World War II and chided the continent’s leaders who believe Russia could pose a credible security threat to the European Union by the end of the decade.

But US-brokered talks between delegations from Moscow and Kyiv, which have so far yielded no significant progress on key issues, have lost momentum amid the Middle East conflict.

At the same time, Trump rejected Zelensky’s offer to help the United States and its Persian Gulf partners fight Iranian drones. Ukraine is one of the world’s leading producers of high-tech, combat-tested drone interceptors.

British officials say Russia and Iran are cooperating on drone technology and tactics in the Middle East. Drone warfare experts from the UK and Ukraine have been sent to the region to help Iran’s neighbors repel its drone attacks.

Stormer’s office said the UK and Ukraine would sign an agreement that would combine “Ukraine’s expertise and the UK’s industrial base to manufacture and supply drones and innovative capabilities”. Britain is also funding an “AI Center of Excellence” in conjunction with the Ukrainian Ministry of Defence.

“Drones, electronic warfare and rapid battlefield innovation are now central to national and economic security, and that has been exacerbated by the conflict in the Middle East,” Stormer said in a statement.

“By deepening our defense partnership, we are strengthening Ukraine’s ability to defend itself against Russia’s brutal, ongoing attacks, while ensuring that the UK and our allies are better prepared to deal with future threats.”

Its air defense intercepted and destroyed 206 Ukrainian drones overnight over Russian territories, the annexed Crimean Peninsula and the Sea of ​​Azov, Russia’s Defense Ministry said on Tuesday. A total of 40 intercepted drones were flying towards Moscow, the ministry said.

Asked about the increase in Ukrainian drone strikes in Moscow over the past few days, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said authorities in Kyiv were “continuing a completely futile resistance” to the Russian aggression.

Zelensky said late on Monday that counterattacks by Ukrainian forces at points east and south of the front line had wrecked Moscow’s plans for a March offensive.

His comments could not be independently verified, but the Institute for the Study of War, a Washington-based think tank, said on Monday that the Ukrainian counterattacks would “constrain” some of Russia’s offensive operations.

Ukraine’s air force said Russia had launched 178 long-range drones of various types overnight across the country since late Monday, of which 154 were intercepted or 22 more hit their targets.

In the southern Ukrainian city of Zaporizhia, a Russian strike damaged a terminal of Nova Poshta, Ukraine’s largest private delivery company, the company said in a telegram. Eight people were wounded, according to Ivan Fedorov, head of the regional military administration.

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Ilya Novikov contributed to this report from Kyiv, Ukraine.

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Follow AP’s coverage of the war in Ukraine at https://apnews.com/hub/russia-ukraine