Welcome to our live coverage of the war in Ukraine.
Volodymyr Zelenskyy declared “Russia must end this war” as he arrived in Washington DC ahead of crucial talks with Donald Trump over Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.
A host of European leaders will join Zelenskyy on Monday for the summit as they seek to provide a counterpoint to Vladimir Putin’s arguments following his talks with the US president on Friday.
The leaders – British prime minister Keir Starmer, French president Emmanuel Macron, German chancellor Friedrich Merz, Italian PM Giorgia Meloni and Finnish president Alexander Stubb – cleared their diaries to fly to the US at short notice, which is seen as a measure of how alarmed they were by Friday’s Trump-Putin summit in Anchorage.
After the Alaska talks Trump reportedly endorsed the Kremlin’s plan to end the war in Ukraine, including Kyiv giving up territory that Russia has been unable to seize and no ceasefire until a final deal has been agreed.
Zelenskyy said in a post on X after arriving in Washington DC late on Sunday that he was grateful to Trump for the invitation and “we all share a strong desire to end this war quickly and reliably”. He also said that “peace must be lasting”.
“Russia must end this war, which it itself started,” Zelenskyy said. “And I hope that our joint strength with America, with our European friends, will force Russia into a real peace.”
Here are some of the latest developments:
Zelenskyy met European leaders in Brussels earlier on Sunday and reiterated Ukraine’s stance on land swaps, saying on X: “Ukraine’s constitution makes it impossible to give up or trade land. Since the territorial issue is so important, it should be discussed only by the leaders of Ukraine and Russia at the trilateral – Ukraine, the US, Russia. So far, Russia gives no sign this will happen, and if Russia refuses, new sanctions must follow.”
Ahead of Monday’s peace talks in the US, Emmanuel Macron said that in order to have a “lasting peace deal for Ukraine, Ukraine needs a strong army”. He added that European allies want “Ukraine’s territorial integrity to be respected” and that “Ukraine must be represented in any talks on Ukraine’s future”. The French president also said that “our goal for tomorrow’s talks is to present a united front between Ukraine and its European allies”. The Washington talks will also be attended by the European Commission president, Ursula von der Leyen, and Nato’s secretary general, Mark Rutte.
Volodymyr Zelenskyy and Ursula von der Leyen at a press conference in Brussels, Belgium, on Sunday. Photograph: AP
Zelenskyy has hailed the decision to offer security guarantees to Ukraine as part of a peace deal as he prepared to meet Trump. “Security guarantees, as a result of our joint work, must really be very practical, delivering protection on land, in the air and at sea, and must be developed with Europe’s participation,” the Ukrainian president said.
In announcing his visit to Washington, Keir Starmer praised Trump for his “efforts to end Russia’s illegal war in Ukraine”. At the same time, the British PM reasserted Europe’s red lines, saying the “path to peace” could not be decided without Zelenskyy and that Russia should be “squeezed” with further sanctions. Starmer has deliberately sought to position himself as a leader who can get along with Trump while consistently stressing the red lines over any peace plan.
The US secretary of state, Marco Rubio, said Russia and Ukraine were both “going to have to make concessions” for there to be a peaceful resolution to the war. In interviews on Sunday Rubio said the talks in Alaska had “made progress in the sense that we identified potential areas of agreement – but there remains some big areas of disagreement”. “We’re still a long ways off,” Rubio added. “We’re not at the precipice of a peace agreement. We’re not at the edge of one. But I do think progress was made and towards one.” He declined to go into specific areas of agreement or disagreement.
Trump’s Ukraine envoy, Steve Witkoff, said Putin had agreed that the US and European allies could offer Ukraine a Nato-style, “Article 5-like” security guarantee as part of an eventual deal to end the war. Witkoff added that Russia had agreed to unspecified concessions on five Ukrainian regions central to the war, particularly the eastern Donetsk province. “We agreed to robust security guarantees that I would describe as gamechanging,” he said.
Mikhail Ulyanov, Russia’s envoy to international organisations in Vienna, said early on Monday that Russia agreed that any future peace agreement must provide security guarantees to Kyiv, but added that Russia “has equal right to expect that Moscow will also get efficient security guarantees”.
European Union council president Antonio Costa said he “welcomed the United States’ willingness to participate in providing security guarantees to Ukraine”. He also said: “Transatlantic unity is paramount at this moment to achieve a sustainable peace in Ukraine.”
Updated at 02.22 EDT
Key events
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Ceasefire, security guarantees to be discussed at White House, Finnish PM says
In the last few minutes, Finland’s prime minister Petteri Orpo said that a ceasefire and security guarantees for Ukraine are the most important topics at the meeting of US president Donald Trump, Ukraine’s president Volodymyr Zelenskyy and European leaders.
Finnish president, Alexander Stubb, will be among those in attendance.
Jakub Krupa
It’s Jakub Krupa here, taking over to guide you through the day as we build up to the main event in Washington this evening.
Good morning.
Asked behind the scenes at June’s G7 summit if he could explain why Donald Trump seemed to like him so much, Keir Starmer admitted he did not really know.
But whatever the reason, when it comes to Ukraine, the UK prime minister is once again hoping to exploit this somewhat curious relationship, Peter Walker writes in this analysis.
It continues:
As soon as it was announced that a string of European leaders planned to join Volodymyr Zelenskyy to back the Ukrainian president in crucial talks with Trump at the White House on Monday, it was obvious Starmer would be joining them.
The idea of Britain being some sort of bridge between US and European interests is something of a longstanding UK diplomatic cliche, and not one that always necessarily carries much meaning.
But in the case of Ukraine, Starmer has very deliberately sought to position himself as a leader who can get along with Trump while consistently stressing to him Europe’s red lines over any peace plan, and trying to sweet-talk the president into offering US security guarantees.
You can read the full analysis here:
A Ukrainian drone intercepted by Russia near the Smolensk nuclear power plant detonated after falling but did not cause significant damage to the plant, Russia’s nuclear power corporation Rosatom said on Monday.
“The damage is insignificant, there are no casualties,” Rosatom said.
Russia’s Federal Security Service (FSB) said on Sunday it had prevented a Ukrainian drone attack on the Smolensk nuclear power plant, Reuters reports.
A Russian drone attack on a five-storey apartment block in the Ukrainian city of Kharkiv early Monday killed five people and wounded more than a dozen others, Ukrainian authorities said.
The attack, which took place just before dawn, reduced part of the building to rubble and sparked fires on at least three floors, the region’s governor Oleg Synegubov said on Telegram.
Russia fired four drones at the building, he said.
Ukraine’s state emergency service posted videos showing rescuers attempting to break through the rubble to reach a trapped resident, while another showed a floor in flames, AFP reports.
“Five people were killed, including a girl aged about one-and-a-half years old,” Ukraine’s prosecution service said.
“At least 18 people were wounded and suffered acute shock, including children.”
The city near the Russian border was also hit hours earlier by a ballistic missile that wounded at least 11 people, Mayor Igor Terekhov said.
Russia also struck the southern Odesa region with drones early Monday, sparking a fire at a fuel facility, regional governor Oleg Kiper said.
Ukraine’s air force said on Monday that Russia had launched four missiles and 140 drones during an overnight attack on Ukraine, Reuters reports.
The air force downed 88 drones and recorded hits in 25 locations across six Ukrainian regions, according to the statement posted on the Telegram messaging app.
Here are some images coming to us over the wires.
Rescuers and police officers carry a man rescued from debris at the site of an apartment building hit by a Russian drone strike in Kharkiv. Photograph: Sofiia Gatilova/ReutersAn injured woman is taken to an ambulance at the site of an attack, in Kharkiv, Ukraine. Photograph: UKRAINIAN EMERGENCY SERVICE/AFP/Getty ImagesResidents react at the site of their apartment building hit by a Russian drone strike in Kharkiv. Photograph: Vitalii Hnidyi/ReutersSmoke rises from damaged buildings, at the site of the Russian drone strike in Kharkiv, Ukraine. Photograph: State Emergency Service Of Ukraine/ReutersShare
Ukraine’s foreign minister says Russia continues to kill civilians despite peace efforts ahead of the US and Ukrainian presidential summit.
“Russia is a murderous war machine that Ukraine is holding back. And it must be stopped through transatlantic unity and pressure,” Andrii Sybiha wrote on X on Monday after a Russian attack on Kharkiv, Ukraine’s second-largest city.
Sybiha also posted a photo of the smoking damage to a building, saying:
This is a residential building in Kharkiv. This night Russia killed at least four people here, including a child, and injured many more … Moscow must stop the killing in order to advance diplomacy.
Updated at 02.10 EDT
Volodymyr Zelenskyy will make his second visit to the White House on Monday with the daunting task of reversing the damage done to Ukraine’s security prospects by Friday’s Trump-Putin summit in Alaska.
But as Julian Borger writes in this analysis, the Ukrainian president will not be alone as he was on his first trip to the White House in February, when he was ambushed and humiliated by Donald Trump and vice-president JD Vance, who sought to bully him into capitulation to Moscow’s demands.
This time the Ukrainian leader comes to Washington flanked by a dream team of European leaders, including Britain’s Keir Starmer, Germany’s Friedrich Merz and France’s Emmanuel Macron, who combine economic and military clout with proven rapport with Trump.
Their mission will be to use their individual and combined influence to coax the president out of the pro-Russian positions he adopted after just a couple of hours under Putin’s sway in the sub-Arctic on Friday.
The full analysis is here:
Updated at 02.11 EDT
Germany’s foreign minister has called for stepped-up pressure on Russia, including more aid for Ukraine, to push Moscow into concessions toward a “just and lasting peace”.
Johann Wadephul was speaking in Tokyo ahead of the summit between Donald Trump, Volodymyr Zelenskyy and European leaders including German chancellor Friedrich Merz.
“It is probably not an exaggeration to say the whole world is looking to Washington,” Reuters quotes Wadephul as saying at a press briefing on Monday alongside Japan’s foreign minister.
“Firm security guarantees are central” because “Ukraine must be able to defend itself effectively even after a ceasefire and peace agreement”, he added.
Updated at 01.57 EDT
The White House has released the timings for the day’s events in Washington DC.
Donald Trump is to hold a bilateral meeting with Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelenskyy at 1.15pm (5.15pm GMT) on Monday at the White House.
Trump will then participate in a multilateral meeting with European leaders visiting Washington at 3pm (7pm GMT).
Here are some of the scenes in Washington DC amid the security operation for the crucial leaders’ summit.
Security fences are unloaded on a blocked road across from the White House. Photograph: Andrew Caballero-Reynolds/AFP/Getty ImagesA man walks beside a blocked road near the White House in Washington DC. Photograph: Andrew Caballero-Reynolds/AFP/Getty ImagesA member of the secret service prepares to set up a security screening as flowers are loaded into a car by guest services at a hotel across from the White House. Photograph: Andrew Caballero-Reynolds/AFP/Getty ImagesA secret service member near a blocked road in the White House area. Photograph: Andrew Caballero-Reynolds/AFP/Getty ImagesSecurity fences are unloaded on a blocked road near the White House. Photograph: Andrew Caballero-Reynolds/AFP/Getty ImagesShare
Updated at 02.15 EDT
In saying “peace must be lasting”, Volodymyr Zelenskyy also said on X that must be “not like it was years ago, when Ukraine was forced to give up Crimea and part of our East –part of Donbas – and Putin simply used it as a springboard for a new attack”.
“Or when Ukraine was given so called ‘security guarantees’ in 1994, but they didn’t work,” the Ukrainian president said.
Now, our soldiers have successes in Donetsk and Sumy regions. I am confident that we will defend Ukraine, effectively guarantee security, and that our people will always be grateful to President Trump, everyone in America, and every partner and ally for their support and invaluable assistance.
Updated at 02.18 EDT
Opening summary
Welcome to our live coverage of the war in Ukraine.
Volodymyr Zelenskyy declared “Russia must end this war” as he arrived in Washington DC ahead of crucial talks with Donald Trump over Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.
A host of European leaders will join Zelenskyy on Monday for the summit as they seek to provide a counterpoint to Vladimir Putin’s arguments following his talks with the US president on Friday.
The leaders – British prime minister Keir Starmer, French president Emmanuel Macron, German chancellor Friedrich Merz, Italian PM Giorgia Meloni and Finnish president Alexander Stubb – cleared their diaries to fly to the US at short notice, which is seen as a measure of how alarmed they were by Friday’s Trump-Putin summit in Anchorage.
After the Alaska talks Trump reportedly endorsed the Kremlin’s plan to end the war in Ukraine, including Kyiv giving up territory that Russia has been unable to seize and no ceasefire until a final deal has been agreed.
Zelenskyy said in a post on X after arriving in Washington DC late on Sunday that he was grateful to Trump for the invitation and “we all share a strong desire to end this war quickly and reliably”. He also said that “peace must be lasting”.
“Russia must end this war, which it itself started,” Zelenskyy said. “And I hope that our joint strength with America, with our European friends, will force Russia into a real peace.”
Here are some of the latest developments:
Zelenskyy met European leaders in Brussels earlier on Sunday and reiterated Ukraine’s stance on land swaps, saying on X: “Ukraine’s constitution makes it impossible to give up or trade land. Since the territorial issue is so important, it should be discussed only by the leaders of Ukraine and Russia at the trilateral – Ukraine, the US, Russia. So far, Russia gives no sign this will happen, and if Russia refuses, new sanctions must follow.”
Ahead of Monday’s peace talks in the US, Emmanuel Macron said that in order to have a “lasting peace deal for Ukraine, Ukraine needs a strong army”. He added that European allies want “Ukraine’s territorial integrity to be respected” and that “Ukraine must be represented in any talks on Ukraine’s future”. The French president also said that “our goal for tomorrow’s talks is to present a united front between Ukraine and its European allies”. The Washington talks will also be attended by the European Commission president, Ursula von der Leyen, and Nato’s secretary general, Mark Rutte.
Volodymyr Zelenskyy and Ursula von der Leyen at a press conference in Brussels, Belgium, on Sunday. Photograph: AP
Zelenskyy has hailed the decision to offer security guarantees to Ukraine as part of a peace deal as he prepared to meet Trump. “Security guarantees, as a result of our joint work, must really be very practical, delivering protection on land, in the air and at sea, and must be developed with Europe’s participation,” the Ukrainian president said.
In announcing his visit to Washington, Keir Starmer praised Trump for his “efforts to end Russia’s illegal war in Ukraine”. At the same time, the British PM reasserted Europe’s red lines, saying the “path to peace” could not be decided without Zelenskyy and that Russia should be “squeezed” with further sanctions. Starmer has deliberately sought to position himself as a leader who can get along with Trump while consistently stressing the red lines over any peace plan.
The US secretary of state, Marco Rubio, said Russia and Ukraine were both “going to have to make concessions” for there to be a peaceful resolution to the war. In interviews on Sunday Rubio said the talks in Alaska had “made progress in the sense that we identified potential areas of agreement – but there remains some big areas of disagreement”. “We’re still a long ways off,” Rubio added. “We’re not at the precipice of a peace agreement. We’re not at the edge of one. But I do think progress was made and towards one.” He declined to go into specific areas of agreement or disagreement.
Trump’s Ukraine envoy, Steve Witkoff, said Putin had agreed that the US and European allies could offer Ukraine a Nato-style, “Article 5-like” security guarantee as part of an eventual deal to end the war. Witkoff added that Russia had agreed to unspecified concessions on five Ukrainian regions central to the war, particularly the eastern Donetsk province. “We agreed to robust security guarantees that I would describe as gamechanging,” he said.
Mikhail Ulyanov, Russia’s envoy to international organisations in Vienna, said early on Monday that Russia agreed that any future peace agreement must provide security guarantees to Kyiv, but added that Russia “has equal right to expect that Moscow will also get efficient security guarantees”.
European Union council president Antonio Costa said he “welcomed the United States’ willingness to participate in providing security guarantees to Ukraine”. He also said: “Transatlantic unity is paramount at this moment to achieve a sustainable peace in Ukraine.”
Updated at 02.22 EDT