Asya Robins
Live reporter

The first day of the Munich Security Conference was dominated by talks on the future of the war in Ukraine.

World leaders and representatives, including Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky and US Vice-President JD Vance, gathered just days after President Trump announced that he had a "lengthy and highly productive" phone call with Russian leader Vladimir Putin.

One moment which dominated the day was Vance’s address to the conference, during which he criticised European leaders over free speech and democracy, and raised concerns over "the threat from within" Europe.

The BBC's Frank Gardner, who was in the room, described it as "very odd" - and noted how a US commentator had told him the speech "was all for US domestic consumption".

In his own statement, Zelensky reiterated the need for more dialogue with the US, noting that previous discussions with Trump had not yet been "enough to form a plan" for peace. He also said Ukraine would need to double the size of its army without Nato membership.

He and Vance met later in the day, having what the US vice-president described as a "fruitful" conversation, with Zelensky saying they needed to "speak more, work more and stop Putin".

Away from Munich, Ukraine alleged that a Russian strike damaged the protective shield over the Chernobyl nuclear power plant overnight - a claim the Kremlin has since denied.

We're ending our live coverage of the conference, but here's a list of BBC content to keep you informed:

• JD Vance attacks Europe over free speech and migration
• Trump wants peace. Ukrainians fear what that might look like
• Jeremy Bowen: Zelensky forced to face tough new reality after Trump-Putin phone call

Vitaliy Shevchenko
BBC Monitoring's Russia editor

Earlier on I took part in a Q&A session on the BBC News channel, answering your questions on the war in Ukraine and what this week's developments - both in and away from Munich - could mean for peace in the country.

One question that gets asked a lot is: why did Russia attack Ukraine in the first place?

The root of the problem is that Ukraine being part of Russia or being influenced by Russia is still central to the way Russia sees itself. The ruling class and a sizeable chunk of the population have never really accepted that Ukraine is a different nation, with different language and identity.

Vladimir Putin openly denies this, calling Ukrainians part of the Russian people. He has also written an article titled "On the historical unity of Russians and Ukrainians".

Some call it imperialism, some call it a bad case of the dumped lover syndrome "I’ll make you mine or I’ll destroy you".

Putin also says he had to launch his "special military operation" because Ukraine was threatening Russia and could have attacked it - likely with Nato’s help.

Our colleagues at Ukrainecast have been digesting a busy day of diplomatic wranglings in Munich and assessing the degree to which the US and Europe remain united over Ukraine.

Co-host Vitaly Shevchenko asks whether this is “the beginning of the end of this unified Western alliance that could sort out” the war in Ukraine, while BBC diplomatic correspondent James Landale says the alliance is “sorely tested.”

You can listen to the whole episode on BBC Sounds.

Vance may be in Munich but his remarks today were about America, for Americanspublished at 19:57 Greenwich Mean Time 14 February

19:57 GMT 14 February

Anthony Zurcher
North America correspondent

Image source, EPA

Vice-president JD Vance travelled to Munich to speak with foreign leaders at the security conference, but his remarks today also seemed directed at an American audience.

"We know very well in America that you cannot win a democratic mandate by censoring your opponents or putting them in jail, whether that's the leader of the opposition, a humble Christian praying in her own home, or a journalist trying to report the news," he said.

"Nor can you win one by disregarding your basic electorate on questions like: who gets to be a part of our shared society?"

The European leaders may have viewed the young vice-president as lecturing them on their actions and attitudes, but Vance’s domestic message was clear. Trump has condemned the various criminal charges against him in the past two years as a "political prosecution" aimed at stopping him from returning to power. He has also accused the Biden administration of investigating Christians who object to diversity lessons in public schools.

And he has condemned the government for working with social media companies to remove content labelled as disinformation or misleading. All these are topics that have roiled American politics over the past four years - and in Vance's view are why Trump, and not the Democrats, received a mandate in last year's presidential election.

The question of "who gets to be part of our shared society" also ties directly to a theme Vance has repeatedly touched on in his short political career - including his acceptance speech at the Republican National Convention last July, where he said the American nation isn’t an "idea" or a set of principles, it is a people bound by a shared history and a common homeland.

Vance may not be in America right now, but once again he's delivering a message about what it means to be an American.

Image source, Getty Images

Circling back to the speech US Vice-President JD Vance made a little earlier, a former US envoy to Russia has described it as being insulting to Europe.

"There was a hypothesis in the speech that Europeans in democracies are not allowed to speak and are not being represented," former US Ambassador to Russia, Michael McFaul, tells Politico in an interview.

"The notion that there's censorship - [Vance] used the word "commissars" to describe the European Union - that is just insulting and it's just empirically not true."

Continuing, he says: "But then he left out the places where it is true.

"Russia - if you're worried about censorship, if you're worried about jailing your opposition, if you're worried about killing the leaders of the opposition - the fact that you would focus just on the crisis in Europe on these things and not speak about Russia, I thought was a big missed opportunity."

Adam Fleming
Newscast presenter

I've been speaking to former Nato Secretary General Anders Fogh Rasmussen, who's at the Munich Security Conference.

He tells me that Britain and France should lead a force of up 100,000 troops as part of a long-term peacekeeping effort in Ukraine when the war ends.

"A number of European countries need to step up to the plate," he says, during an interview for the BBC's Newsnight. "We must create a coalition of the willing under the leadership of France and the UK to provide security guarantees for Ukraine and deploy troops on Ukrainian soil."

He says he'll let military experts determine the exact number, but estimates anywhere between 50,000 and 100,000 troops should be deployed.

Asked if this would have to be an open-ended commitment, he says other similar deployments had lasted for decades and so "we need to be more patient".

Rasmussen, also a former Danish prime minister, suggests that Germany, the Netherlands, Poland and the Baltic States could also join this coalition - adding that the US could support the peacekeeping effort without troops on the ground by providing transport and surveillance.

Image source, Reuters

It's been a busy day at the annual Munich Security Conference, with speeches from the likes of US Vice-President JD Vance and European Commission chief Ursula von der Leyen, and a Q&A with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky.

If you're just joining us now, here's what you need to know:

• Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky says he will only meet Russian President Vladimir Putin to discuss peace plans after a plan to end the war has been agreed with European leaders and US President Donald Trump
• Despite a suggestion by Trump that such negotiations between the US, Russia and Ukraine could take place in Munich today, Russia are not present at the summit and weren't invited to be
• US Vice-President JD Vance, who is at the summit, used a speech to criticise European leaders over free speech and democracy, saying he fears "the threat from within" and that there is no issue more "urgent" than mass migration
• The BBC's Frank Gardner summed up the remarks as being "very weird" for a US vice-president, especially because they ignored the question on everyone's mind - how will Trump end the war in Ukraine?
• At a meeting between Zelensky and Vance, the former said more work was needed to stop Putin and the latter insisted "fruitful" conversations were being had between Ukraine and the US

• Meanwhile, Von der Leyen denounced tariffs as a tax on those who can least afford it, following Trump's decision to implement a 25% duty on all steel and aluminium imports into the US

Giving his account of the meeting with Vance, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky says they've had a "good conversation" and that this "is our first meeting, not last".

"Really what we need to do [is] speak more, to work more and to prepare the plan, how to stop Putin and finish the war," he says - having earlier said he would only hold talks with Russian President Vladimir Putin once a peace plan had been agreed with the US and European leaders.

He adds that Ukraine wants peace "very much" - but it needs real security guarantees, saying he's "thankful" for American support.

A reporter swiftly asks how, if Ukraine is not willing to come to the table with Putin, the US plans to move forward. Vance says there's a senior team involved in the negotiations and that "it's important for us to get together" to have discussions - adding that's all he'll say for now to preserve he "optionality" of the negotiations.

We're now hearing the first remarks from US Vice-President JD Vance, since he sat down with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky.

He says the pair have had "fruitful conversations", with "things to follow up on" in due course.

The US wants to achieve a "durable, lasting peace" between Russia and Ukraine, Vance tells reporters, but he does not detail how this will happen.

He says the conversation will continue and be "moved forward", but will not be pressed on further detail.

Dmytro Vlasov
BBC World Service, in Munich

Image source, Getty Images

President Zelensky and Vice-President JD Vance are currently meeting in Munich, a spokesman for the Ukrainian president has confirmed.

The talks are taking place in the basement of a five-star hotel in an upmarket area of the city, about 5km (3 miles) from the Munich Security Conference, where both leaders spoke earlier today.

We're yet to hear what the pair are discussing, but will let you know when we do.

Vitaliy Shevchenko
BBC Monitoring's Russia editor

"It was very nice to hear Vance's very strong speech," says a correspondent on Rossiya 1, one of Russia’s most-watched TV stations.

“It was a public caning, I can't call it anything else. It was also nice to watch the faces of those listening to him," Asya Yemelyanova goes on, laughingly.

For particular praise, she singles out JD Vance’s remarks that he’s worried about “the threat from within” rather than Russian or Chinese interference in Europe.

Yemelyanova also echoes the US vice-president’s assertion that democracy and free speech are declining in Europe.

This sentiment was always going to go down well with Russian commentators - after all, this is what Kremlin-controlled TV has been saying for years.

Image source, Reuters

We're now hearing from German Defence Minister Boris Pistorius, who says he "strongly opposes" the sentiments in US Vice-President JD Vance's earlier speech, which we've been reporting on.

In it, Vance broadly accused European governments of ignoring voter concerns on immigration and mitigating free speech.

"Democracy was called into question, by the US vice-president, for the whole of Europe earlier," Pistorius says from the main stage of the conference.

"He speaks of the annihilation of democracy. And if I have understood him correctly, he is comparing conditions in parts of Europe with those in authoritarian regions... that is not acceptable."

• As a reminder: The key takeaways from Vance's speech are in a round-up we brought you earlier.

A weird speech that ignored the question on everyone's mind - how will Trump end the war in Ukraine?published at 16:46 Greenwich Mean Time 14 February

16:46 GMT 14 February

Frank Gardner
Security correspondent, in Munich

There is a full-scale war raging a few hundred few miles east of here, on Europe's eastern borders, and everyone wants to know how America is planning to end that war without selling out Ukraine.

But they didn't hear that from JD Vance when he addressed the Munich Security Conference a little earlier.

Instead, we got chapter and verse on misinformation, disinformation, right of free speech, and he had a go at pretty much all the US's allies - including Britain.

It was a very weird speech from a US vice-president; it wasn't what anyone wanted to talk about.

He made a joke at one point saying, "if American democracy can survive 10 years of Greta Thunberg scolding, you guys can survive a few months of Elon Musk". And then he paused for the applause, to be met with absolute dead silence.

A US commentator said to me afterwards: "That was all for US domestic consumption".

We've a final excerpt to bring you now from Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky's Q&A a little earlier - he says Ukraine would need to double the size of its army to 1.5 million people if it's unable to join the Nato military alliance.

The US, he says, has been against Kyiv joining the alliance, adding that he believes Washington has never seen Ukraine as a Nato member.

Zelensky says it would be in both Ukraine and Nato's interests for Ukraine to join the alliance: "We have a strong army which can make a stronger Nato everywhere."

• Get up to so speed with this in our explainer: What is Nato, why isn't Ukraine a member and what has Trump said?

Zelensky made the comments we reported in our last post while answering questions during a town hall event at the Munich Security Conference. Here's a bit more of what he said.

Zelensky told the room that the only Russian official he's prepared to talk to, about agreeing an end to the war, is President Vladimir Putin.

It comes following days of reports suggesting there'll be US-Russia-Ukraine talks, with US President Donald Trump saying yesterday that such a meeting would happen in Munich - where Zelenksy and others are currently gathered.

But, as our security correspondent Frank Gardner reported earlier, this caused some confusion because Russia is not present at the conference and has not been invited.

Answering the same question, Zelensky says he would only meet Putin once Ukraine had agreed on a common plan for peace with US President Donald Trump and European leaders.

A bit of breaking news from the Munich Security Conference.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has said he will only meet Russian President Vladimir Putin for peace talks once a common plan with the US and European leaders has been agreed.

We'll bring you more on what he said shortly.

Image source, PA Media

We're currently listening in to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky as he speaks at a US-Ukraine security cooperation townhall event - part of the Munich Security Conference - which you can tune into at the top of the page.

He says the war with Russia strengthened unity between Europe and the US, and he's proud that Ukraine is part of "such a strong" Europe. He adds that it's important not to lose "this unity".

To make a peace deal without Ukraine or Europe is not a good idea, he goes on, referring to US President Donald Trump saying on Wednesday that he had spoken to Russian leader Vladimir Putin and the pair agreed to begin negotiations to end the war in Ukraine.

There were subsequent reports questioning whether Ukraine was to be present at those talk, which Russia later said it "of course" would be.

Zelensky is due to meet US Vice-President JD Vance in Munich later today.

Frank Gardner
Security correspondent, in Munich

German officials have expressed surprise and bewilderment at Donald Trump’s claim that Russian officials would meet in Munich for a three-way discussion with the US and Ukraine.

The Russians are not here and they have not been invited.

Then there is the issue of Ukraine’s bid to join Nato. It’s still on the table, say Europeans, while US Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth appeared to rule it out this week before later softening his stance somewhat.

I asked a senior European figure here if today’s talks had produced any clarity on the US position on Ukraine, and a deal to end the war there. "Not really," was their attributable reply, "we are still trying to work out what it is."

Boris Pistorius, the German defence minister, has told journalists it was a mistake for Trump to give away key bargaining concessions to Russia before talks had even begun, a view widely echoed here.

Ukrainian MP Oleksiy Honcharenko, who is currently at the Munich Security Conference, says the only thing that can be said about US Vice-President JD Vance's speech is "the total humiliation of all European leaders".

"People in the room are shocked," he says in a post on X.

In another, he adds: "For most of Vance's speech, the European leaders and bureaucrats looked at each other, and there was almost no applause."

• We've recapped what Vance said in our last post - including suggesting Europe needs to play a bigger role in securing the future of the continent - which you can read by scrolling down.

Image source, EPA

If you're just joining us, or need a bit of a recap, US Vice-President JD Vance has spoken at the Munich Security Conference - here are the key takeaways:

• He began by saying the Trump administration was "thinking and praying" for those affected by yesterday's suspected car-ramming attack in Munich
• Vance said he fears "the threat from within" and that there is no issue more "urgent" than mass migration - which he described as being at an "all time high" in various countries around the world
• He also said he feared there'd been a retreat of "fundamental values" - such as free speech - in Europe and the UK, calling on all countries to live by "democratic values"
• On defence spending, which he said was likely to be discussed at length over the conference, Vance said European countries must play a "bigger role" in the future of the continent - but also said it's becoming less clear what Europe is actually defending itself against
• And he ended by suggesting that if American democracy can survive 10 years of climate activist Greta Thunberg "scolding it", Europe can "survive a few months" of Elon Musk