Sarah Rainsford
Eastern Europe Correspondent

Lithuanian prosecutors have said Russia’s military intelligence agency, the GRU, is linked to arson attacks last spring on shopping centres in Vilnius and Warsaw.

Two teenagers have been charged with the attack in Lithuania, accused of planting an explosive device in an Ikea store just before closing.

In Warsaw, a huge shopping mall – Marywilska – was burned to the ground.

The news from Lithuanian prosecutors has been used by Poland’s Prime Minister to remind others about what kind of Russia they are dealing with ahead of any peace talks over Ukraine.

As Donald Tusk points out, Russia hasn’t only launched a full-scale invasion of its neighbour, it is prosecuting a widespread hybrid war all over Europe.

Writing on X he said: “Good to know [this] before negotiations. Such is the nature of this state”.

The two accused by Lithuania are Ukrainian nationals, fitting a pattern for a series of sabotage and arson attacks across eastern Europe.

Last month, a Ukrainian citizen was found guilty of attempting to set fire to a paint factory in Wroclaw, in western Poland – again, accused of working for Russian intelligence.

Poland closed the Russian consulate in Poznań in response to the case.

More now from the news conference in Brussels with EU foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas.

Asked how the EU will be involved in the ongoing negotiations on the war in Ukraine, Kallas says the bloc is "discussing matters with different interlocutors".

She describes the continuing peace talks as "shuttle diplomacy", saying "there's no negotiation table".

Image source, EU Foreign Affairs Council

We've just heard from Kaja Kallas, the European Union's foreign policy chief, following a morning meeting of the bloc's Foreign Affairs Council.

Speaking at a news conference, Kallas says the council had an "intensive" meeting that covered a wide range of topics, saying there was "broad political support" for a defence initiative totalling €40bn (£34bn).

On the peace talks between US and Ukrainian officials in Saudi Arabia that led to a 30-day ceasefire proposal, she says everyone welcomed the results of the talks and reiterates that the "ball is in Russia's court".

"The understanding around the table is that Russia can't really be trusted," she adds. "They will seize this opportunity to present all kinds of demands."

Ukraine and Russia continued to exchange drone strikes overnight, according to officials from both countries.

Ukrainian police said that a local resident was killed after a drone targeted his car in the front-line town of Myrnohrad, in the eastern Donetsk region.

And Ukraine's state-owned electricity operator Ukrenergo reported that several regions across the country have been left without power due to Russian drone attacks.

Below are the latest images coming through from Ukrainian authorities.

Image source, Ukrainian police

Image source, Ukrainian police

Image source, Ukrainian Emergency Services

Vitaliy Shevchenko
Russia editor, BBC Monitoring

Three children have been injured in Russian shelling of the Ukrainian frontline town of Pokrovsk this morning, local authorities report.

Vadym Filashkin, the head of the Donetsk regional administration, says in a Facebook post that the children - two girls aged eight and 15, and a 12-year-old boy - had previously been evacuated to a safer region of Ukraine, but their parents later “made the crazy decision to return to Pokrovsk".

“Grown-ups who make their children sit under shelling in frontline towns are infuriating. If you don’t care about yourselves, at least take care of your children! Don’t wait for shells or bombs to hit your home! Evacuate!” Filashkin says.

Pokrovsk is a key logistics hub in Ukraine’s eastern Donetsk region, which Russians have been trying to capture for many months.

Image source, EPA-EFE/REX/Shutterstock

More than 30 countries will be involved in a "coalition of the willing" to help Ukraine, a spokesman for UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer says.

The plan, spearheaded by the UK and France, was set out earlier this month and would work to uphold any ceasefire in Russia's war on Ukraine. The PM previously said the UK would back its commitment with "boots on the ground, and planes in the air".

Each country providing peacekeeping troops will have "different capabilities" within the coalition, Starmer's spokesperson says today.

"But this will be a significant force, with a significant number of countries providing troops and a larger group contributing in other ways," he adds. "We're expecting more than 30 countries to be involved."

Operational details are still being discussed but Starmer remains certain that a US security guarantee is essential to secure peace, the spokesman says.

Paul Adams
Diplomatic correspondent

Image source, Reuters

When assessing how and when Vladimir Putin will agree to a ceasefire in Ukraine, it’s important to look at what is happening on the ground in Russia’s Kursk region.

Ukrainian troops launched a mini-invasion last August, capturing a chunk of the region, much to the surprise of Kyiv’s allies and the embarrassment of Moscow.

With the help of around 10,000 North Korean troops, Russia has been fighting back, gradually pushing Ukraine’s forces back towards the border.

That task is now almost complete.

“The Ukrainian military thought that they could hold Kursk as a bargaining chip in negotiations, and unfortunately, that hasn't panned out,” Jack Watling, senior research fellow at the Royal United Services Institute told the BBC.

“The Russians have been able to close the salient and push them out of Russian territory just before the key negotiations get underway.”

It’s not just a diplomatic setback. Around 60,000 Russian troops were deployed to Kursk, tying up valuable resources and helping to slow Moscow’s advance along Ukraine’s long eastern front.

Once the last Ukrainian forces have been pushed out of Kursk, those Russian troops will once again be available for operations elsewhere, increasing the military pressure on Kyiv.

Ukraine was struggling to hold territory in Kursk even before the Trump administration’s decision to withhold military and intelligence assistance.

But even though both were quickly restored, the suspension came at a critical time and probably helped to hasten Ukraine’s retreat.

People living in Kyiv are still uncertain on Ukraine's future after the possibility of a temporary ceasefire was announced.

"We are not one step closer to peace," Tetiana Bortnytska says.

"I don't think that there will be any positive changes, and the fact that they are pressuring us to give up our territories... I'm sorry, I have two brothers there. What are they fighting for?" she tells the Reuters news agency.

Medical student Vladyslav Pryimachenko says "of course there's no trust but politics is politics. Every war comes with negotiations. So that's what we should do."

Ukraine needs to work with US President Donald Trump, he adds, because America is so powerful.

"So, it's not a question whether it's possible to do it or not. That's the reality, we should do this."

Vitaliy Shevchenko
Russia editor, BBC Monitoring

Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelensky says he has ordered his Defence Minister Rustem Umerov to put together a team of negotiators who will “interact with partners on all the details of the security system that Ukraine needs, and on implementing decisions being approved at military-political level.”

In the statement posted on social media, external, he says the team will travel to London this week to take part in a meeting of “military representatives.”

Military chiefs from the UK's "coalition of the willing" are expected to meet in London on Thursday to discuss plans for a peacekeeping force in Ukraine if a ceasefire is agreed. But it's not clear if Zelensky is referring to the same meeting.

Zelensky also says he has met Umerov and the newly appointed Chief of the General Staff Andriy Hnatov to discuss “the situation on the frontline and also interaction with partners on security guarantees for Ukraine.”

Russia may think it's calling the shotspublished at 12:38 Greenwich Mean Time 17 March

12:38 GMT 17 March

Sarah Rainsford
Eastern Europe correspondent

As the Kremlin confirms that Presidents Putin and Trump will talk on Tuesday, US officials are trying to sound positive about doing a ceasefire deal.

But it’s worth considering the tone of comments coming from Moscow right now. It’s sounding extremely bullish.

Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Alexander Grushko just gave a long interview to the Izvestia newspaper. In it he claims the war in Ukraine has shown Nato and the EU that they “underestimated” Russia and “made a huge mistake betting that they could bring about our strategic defeat”.

Like other officials, he underlines Russia’s insistence that Ukraine can never join Nato.

As for peacekeepers, even as Britain and the EU talk about policing a possible ceasefire, Russia says “no” to any Nato or EU troops on the ground.

All of this is couched in talk of supposed Western aggression against Russia – a military build-up on Nato’s eastern flank. It deliberately ignores the evidence of actual Russian aggression - Crimea in 2014, the Salisbury nerve agent attack, multiple acts of sabotage and much more.

But none of this sounds like the tone of a country under pressure or preparing to make concessions.

It seems more like Russia currently thinks it’s calling the shots.

It's just gone midday in the London newsroom and if you're just joining us, here's the latest on the war in Ukraine:

• US President Donald Trump is set to speak with his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin on Tuesday for Ukraine peace talks
• Speaking to reporters on Sunday, the president said the two leaders will address "power plants", "land" and "dividing up certain assets"
• Russia has confirmed that a call between the US and Russian leaders is being planned but would not be drawn on what they would discuss
• This comes after Ukraine's minister of foreign affairs urged the use of all "diplomatic tools" to make Russia accept the US-proposed ceasefire deal
• Elsewhere, at an EU meeting of foreign affairs ministers in Brussels, the EU's foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas also said Russia's conditions on the proposed ceasefire show "they don't want peace"

Image source, Reuters

• French President Emmanuel Macron and his newly-elected Canadian counterpart Mark Carney held a joint news conference where they said they would demand "clear commitments" from Russia
• Meanwhile, the war in Ukraine continues to rumble on as Russia and Ukraine launched overnight drone attacks on each other, according to officials from both countries
• Ukraine says Russian forces are continuing their attempts to invade the Sumy region, while Ukrainian soldiers have compared fighting in Russia's Kursk region to a "horror movie"

We'll bring you the latest updates as we get them.

Image source, Getty Images

"The ball is now in Russia's court," the US Secretary of State Marco Rubiosaid last week, after he announced plans for a temporary ceasefire.

Ukraine has agreed, but Russia is yet to. President Vladimir Putin last week said he supports the idea, but added there are "nuances".

He said that the "root causes" of the war must be removed, but did not explicitly state what these are.

Putin went on to list the questions that he wants answered: "How will those 30 days be used? For Ukraine to mobilise? Rearm? Train people? Or none of that? Then a question - how will that be controlled?

"Who will give the order to end the fighting? At what cost? Who decides who has broken any possible ceasefire, over 2,000km (1,243 miles)? All those questions need meticulous work from both sides. Who polices it?"

One of the main areas of contention is Russia's western Kursk region, Putin said, where Ukraine launched a military incursion last August and captured some territory.

He claimed Russia was fully back in control of Kursk, and said Ukrainian troops there "have been isolated".

Ukraine's top general Oleksandr Syrskyi said a day earlier that Ukrainian troops would hold defensive positions in the Kursk region "as long as it is expedient and necessary".

The Russian leader had set so many pre-conditions "that nothing will work out at all", Ukraine's President Zelensky said.

It's yet to be seen if Putin will agree to the plan, but he will speak with US President Donald Trump on Tuesday, who has made it clear he wants a deal quickly.

What does Trump mean by 'dividing up certain assets'?published at 11:43 Greenwich Mean Time 17 March

11:43 GMT 17 March

James Landale
reporting from Kyiv

Image source, Reuters

President Trump says the US is discussing with Russia and Ukraine “dividing up certain assets”. But what does that mean?

He was not explicit. It could refer to the possible division of territory as part of a potential long-term settlement. But that is unlikely.

Ukraine says it will never accept occupied territory as Russian, and Russia says the four partially-occupied regions in the east are constitutionally theirs.

So Trump is more likely to be referring to territorial issues that may need to be sorted out as part of any short-term ceasefire. This could involve where to draw a “contact line” that might currently bisect towns and villages in a way that is impractical.

It could refer to safe access to Black Sea ports.

One issue President Zelensky has specifically raised is Ukraine’s demand to take back control of the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant, which is currently occupied by Russian forces, including the nearby town of Enerhodar where many of the workers live.

France and Canada are “powers of peace” and will continue to stand by Ukraine’s side, French President Emmanuel Macron says.

During a joint press conference between Macron and Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney, Macron adds that Canada has been by Ukraine and Europe’s side without faltering since the beginning of the war.

Macron also says the two nations will continue to support Ukraine and demand “clear commitments” from Russia.

“We both stand for sovereignty and security… demonstrated by our unwavering support to Ukraine,” Carney says, adding that in a crisis it’s now very important for Canada to strengthen ties with reliable partners.

Image source, Reuters

The new Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney has arrived at France's Elysee Palace on his first trip abroad.

He was welcomed by French President Emmanuel Macron.

The two leaders will discuss the war in Ukraine, we'll bring you any lines on Ukraine from their press conference, which is currently taking place.

Several regions in Ukraine are without power after Russian drone attacks, says Ukrenergo, the state-owned electricity operator.

It says Russia targeted energy facilities in multiple areas, damaging equipment. Emergency repairs are under way.

Ukrenergo is also urging Ukrainians to limit their electricity use.

Vitaliy Shevchenko
Russia editor, BBC Monitoring

Civilian casualties continue to be reported after Russian attacks in Ukraine. In the front-line town of Myrnohrad in the eastern Donetsk region, a local resident was killed after a drone targeted his car, Ukrainian police say, external.

In Seredyna-Buda, next to the Russian border in the northern Sumy region, a 65-year-old woman was killed outside her house as Russians opened mortar fire across the border yesterday, Ukrainian prosecutors say, external.

Authorities in Sumy region have repeatedly urged locals living near the border to evacuate, fearing an increase in Russian attacks.

Drones and massive numbers are proving decisive in this warpublished at 10:43 Greenwich Mean Time 17 March

10:43 GMT 17 March

Frank Gardner
reporting from Berlin

"Quantity has a quality all (of) its own" is a quote often attributed to the Soviet leader Joseph Stalin during the battles of World War Two. And so it has proved in the most recent phase of Russia’s war on Ukraine.

Ukraine’s forces have often been better equipped, better led and better motivated.

Yet that has proved no match for Russia’s massive advantage in sheer numbers of men and munitions that it can hurl at the front lines.

Moscow put its economy on to a war footing long ago, appointing an economist as defence minister and diverting close to 40% of the state budget to defence, its factories churning out artillery shells and drones.

While Nato countries debate whether to raise their defence spending to 3% of GDP, Russia is spending more than double that - its highest level since the Cold War.

As well as mass, drones have proved a game-changer in this war. Both sides use them with devastating effect.

For a while Ukrainian electronic warfare specialists were able to jam the signal on Russian battlefield drones but Moscow got around this by loading them with thin, fibre-optic cables that can spool out from the back of the drone for several kilometres, making them impossible to jam.

Again, the high numbers of these have had a major impact on infantry, especially those caught out in open country.

Ben Tavener
Moscow producer

The Kremlin has confirmed that a call between presidents Vladimir Putin and Donald Trump is being prepared for Tuesday.

“Yes, that’s true. A call is being planned for Tuesday,” Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov tells reporters on Monday.

Peskov would not be drawn on what the two presidents would discuss specifically regarding Ukraine peace talks, when asked whether they would broach questions of Ukraine territory and power plants, as mentioned by Donald Trump.

“We never do that,” Peskov says.

Ukraine's minister of foreign affairs urges the use of all "diplomatic tools" to make Russia "unconditionally" accept the US and Ukraine's peace proposal.

Speaking about the EU Foreign Affairs Council meeting, Andrii Sybiha says he has "focused on efforts to strengthen Ukraine’s and Europe’s defence capabilities".

He also says he has been concentrating on "self-sufficiency, advance sanctions policy, and proceeding on Ukraine’s EU accession path".