By Adam McGroarty, live news reporter

Good morning and welcome back to our live coverage of the war in Ukraine.

As usual, we’re starting this week with an overview of the key movements in the war over the last seven days.

Trump, Zelenskyy and European leaders meet

At the start of the week, Donald Trump welcomed European and NATO leaders to the White House, just days after his meeting with Vladimir Putin in Alaska.

Things went far better this time for Volodymyr Zelenskyy when compared to February’s disastrous Oval Office meeting with Trump.

European leaders came away from the White House feeling optimistic, despite very little being agreed.

At one point, Trump even interrupted his meeting with Zelenskyy and European leaders to call Putin.

Following the talks last Monday, Zelenskyy said details of security guarantees would be worked on in the next 10 days, while German Chancellor Friedrich Merz said Trump agreed that a meeting between Putin and Zelenskyy should happen within two weeks.

Trump also said American troops will not be sent to Ukraine, but the US may provide air support as part of a peace deal with Russia.

Watch our US correspondent Mark Stone‘s analysis of the talks…

But Russia warns of ‘road to nowhere’

Meanwhile, Russia’s foreign minister Sergei Lavrov warned that discussing security issues without Russia is a “road to nowhere”.

Lavrov issued a sharp rebuke to the European Union, which he described as “clumsy”.

Russia is now insisting that it must be part of any such guarantees – something Ukraine and its allies likely wouldn’t agree to.

Speaking to our US partner network NBC News, Lavrov added that security guarantees “must be subject to consensus”.

He also claimed that Russia has presented such guarantees “several times”.

Ukraine celebrates Independence Day

Ukraine celebrated its 34th Independence Day on Sunday, with Zelenskyy saying it’s “only a matter of time” before the country can reunite its occupied lands with the rest of Ukraine.

Ukraine’s president shared letters sent to him from world leaders, including Donald Trump, Xi Jinping and Pope Leo.

He also revealed an “inspirational” letter sent from King Charles, in which the monarch said he feels the “greatest and deepest admiration for the unbreakable courage and spirit of the Ukrainian people”.

Leo said he hopes the “clamour of arms may fall silent and give way to dialogue, opening the path to peace”.

Trump said that “now is the moment to bring an end to the senseless killing,” calling for a “negotiated settlement that leads to a durable, lasting peace that ends the bloodshed and safeguards Ukraine’s sovereignty and dignity”.

In the letter from Xi, a close ally of Russian President Vladimir Putin, there was no mention of the war in Ukraine, which China has remained publicly neutral over since it began.

Your questions answered

Our security and defence analyst Michael Clarke answered more of your questions on the war in Ukraine last week.

Here’s an overview of what he touched on:

  • Trump’s “fear” of Putin;
  • Moscow’s true objective for peace talks;
  • The five other countries vulnerable to the Kremlin…

Watch the full Q&A below.