A Danish reporter asks the Danish prime minister where the nation stands on the question of deploying troops to Ukraine if and when the war ends.

For context: The British PM said last week he was "ready and willing" to put UK troops on the ground in Ukraine to help guarantee its security as part of a peace deal.

Mette Frederiksen says she's "open minded", and that Denmark "will be with our friends Ukraine as long as it takes".

She highlights the importance of ensuring Ukraine gets "what they need on the ground", and urges allies to contribute more.

She says a lot of questions have to be answered before a concrete solution can be reached on sending troops.

"This war is about Ukraine, and its also about European security," she says. "We need to look at the entire eastern flank when it comes to deterrence and defence."

Image source, Reuters

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky and a group of western leaders file in for the news conference in Kyiv, and take their seats at a round table.

It gets under way with questions from reporters.

European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen takes the first. She's asked about lifting sanctions on Russia if a peace deal is reached.

She says the sanctions won't end unless Moscow demonstrates a willingness to create a lasting peace in Ukraine.

Zelensky chimes in, adding that Russia's war has killed thousands. "That's why we'll never forget it," he adds.

Image source, Reuters

We're expecting to hear shortly from the Ukrainian president in Kyiv, where he's been meeting European leaders and Canada's Justin Trudeau to discuss the ongoing war with Russia.

We'll bring you the key lines and takeaways in our next few posts, but you can also watch the news conference live at the top of the page.

Stay with us.

Image source, Getty Images

“Ukraine is not the country you can conquer in three days. The Russians couldn’t break us in 300 years – they tried, but they couldn’t.”

These are the words of 34-year-old Yevheniia Bondini, a Kyiv resident reflecting on Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine three years on.

Others in Kyiv, like Viktoriia Blinova, 42, share the same sentiment.

She tells the Reuters news agency: “They will never get Kyiv. We are strong, we are an absolutely unbreakable nation. So they [Russians] shouldn’t dream about Kyiv in three days", referring to comments from the Kremlin in 2022.

Inna Zaitseva, 34, says: "My hands are shaking. We have always been here, we didn’t go anywhere. We have always stayed in our country and believed in our warriors and our President. We believe him.”

“We have stood and we will stand. We have to do our part. Hope? We have to work for victory,” says Blinova.

Ben Hatton
Live reporter

Image source, PA Media/Ukrainian president's office

Today marks the third anniversary of Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine. For many there, the day began like so many others: by taking stock of the damage caused by overnight Russian drone strikes.

Ukraine said it shot down 113 of 185 Russian drones, while its own drones struck an oil refinery in the Russian city of Ryazan, just south of Moscow.

As dawn broke, western leaders - from Canada, Spain, Denmark, Norway, Estonia, the European Union and others - began arriving in Kyiv by train.

Zelensky then opened a summit in the Ukrainian capital, Kyiv, and said a prisoner of war exchange could be the "start" of a process to end the war.

The message from western leaders present was overwhelmingly one of support for Ukraine. A number stressed the need for Kyiv to have a say in any future peace deal, and announced new support as well as sanctions on Russia.

There were no US speakers at the summit in Kyiv. But we heard, via a senior Ukrainian official on social media this morning, that Ukraine and the US are in the "final stages of negotiations" on a minerals deal.

Meanwhile, French President Emmanuel Macron is in Washington DC - Ukraine is expected to be top of the agenda when he meets Donald Trump. We're due to hear from the two leaders later.

We're expecting plenty more to come today. Stick with us.

Image source, Reuters

As world leaders met in Kyiv, people in the nearby town of Irpin marked the third anniversary of Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine.

A memorial event took place at the site of the Romanivka Bridge. The bridge was blown up by the Ukrainian military to stop Russian advances, and tens of thousands of residents were evacuated under it.

The BBC's Orla Guerin reported from Irpin in March 2022.

"They came on foot, in an endless stream - trying to outpace the Russian shells laying waste to their hometown," she wrote.

"There were families with children in strollers clutching stuffed toys, young mothers with babes in arms, and the elderly moving as fast as their years would allow. Most were silent. Some were weeping.

"At the edge of Irpin there was urgency, panic, and anguish. It felt like we were witnessing the death of a city."

Image source, Reuters

Following the EU's announcement of new sanctions on Russia, the UK has announced 107 new sanctions on Russia and North Korea.

The sanctions will target "Russian military supply chains, revenues fuelling Putin's illegal war, and Kleptocrats driving profits for the Kremlin," the UK says.

The targets include:

• Producers and suppliers of machine tools and electronics for Russia’s military
• North Korean Defence Minister No Kwang Chol and other North Korean officials complicit in deploying over 11,000 forces to Russia
• LLC Grant-Trade owner Marat Mustafaev and his sister Dinara Mustafaeva, who the UK says have funnelled advanced European technology into Russia

Since Russia's invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, the UK has imposed almost 2,000 sanctions on Russia. They are designed to punish individuals, companies, and governments by - for example - banning them from entering the UK, having bank accounts, or doing business there.

While European leaders met in Kyiv, and others joined via video, French President Emmanuel Macron was not in the room.

That's because he's in Washington DC to meet US President Donald Trump - the pair are taking part in a G7 leaders' call this morning, before a bilateral meeting later.

We're expecting a news conference from them at around 14:00 ET (19:00 GMT). You'll be able to follow it live on this page.

Image source, Reuters

Sara Monetta
Reporting from Kyiv

Dimko Zhluktenko is a 26-year-old drone pilot who enlisted into the Ukrainian Army last year.

He feels passionately about not being forced into a ceasefire without security guarantees.

"If there is a ceasefire, Russia will just use that time - as they’ve always done - to regroup and to attack on a much bigger scale," he says.

When asked about the impact the politics is having on him and his comrades, he shrugs.

"To me personally, it doesn't change a thing," he says.

"I'm still willing to defend my home. I know that if the United States will pull out all the aid that they give to us, it's going to be just more deadly. But we are still going to stand our ground."

At today’s leaders' meeting, the absence of the US is the elephant in the room.

Donald Trump has been increasingly confrontational towards Ukraine’s leader, Volodymyr Zelensky, and he has blamed Kyiv for provoking Russia’s aggression.

Trump has repeatedly called for a "quick peace" – an end to hostilities that would see Ukraine make considerable concessions to Russia.

Image source, Getty Images

As we've been reporting, a senior Ukrainian official says the country is close to finalising a minerals deal with the US.

Donald Trump says the US is seeking access to Ukraine's minerals in return for previous aid - with Ukraine insisting on security guarantees going forward.

Last week Zelensky rejected a US demand for $500 billion in mineral wealth, saying nowhere near that much aid had been provided, adding: "I can't sell our state."

A deal now seems to be close - but it's not known which minerals it would cover, how much the US would try to recoup from previous aid, and what any future "security guarantee" could look like.

Ukraine holds huge deposits of critical elements and minerals, including lithium and titanium, as well as sizeable coal, gas, oil and uranium deposits - supplies worth billions of dollars.

Last year, Zelensky presented his "victory plan" to Ukraine and its western partners, which proposed that foreign firms could gain access to some of the countries' mineral wealth at the end of the war.

It said "strategic partners" could receive a "special agreement for the joint protection of the country's critical resources, as well as joint investment and use of this economic potential".

It was one of five points he put forward - which included an invitation for Ukraine to join Nato.

Image source, Reuters

We've just brought you UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer's comments to the summit in Kyiv - here's a round-up of other key lines from the leaders in the room.

European Commission president Ursula von der Leyen said "we must speed up the delivery of weapons and ammunition" to Ukraine, saying the war remains "the most central and consequential crisis for Europe's future".

"It is not only the destiny of Ukraine at stake, it is Europe's destiny at stake," she said.

She announced an extra 3.5bn euros in aid, on top of the 135bn euros in existing EU support for Ukraine.

Announcing 1bn euros from Spain, Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez said: "Spain will continue to provide military support and equipment with even more determination than what we've done in the past."

Canada's PM Justin Trudeau called Russia's aggression a war on "our way of life, on democracy, on the rule of law, on self-determination, on justice" - and said Ukraine must fight on. Trudeau said Canada would commit dozens more vehicles, fighter jet landing systems and millions more rounds of ammunition.

Meanwhile, Japan's PM Shigeru Ishiba said "Russia's aggression against Ukraine is an outrageous act that shakes the very foundation of international order".

UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer has just spoken via video-link at the summit in Ukraine, insisting that "Russia does not hold all the cards in this war".

His choice of words comes after US President Donald Trump said Russia "has the cards" in Ukraine peace negotiations, because of the territory it has seized.

But Starmer says that's not true, as "Ukrainians have the courage to defend their country" and because "Russia’s economy is in trouble…they have now lost the best of their land forces and their Black Sea Fleet in this pointless invasion".

Starmer accepts that Trump has "changed the global conversation".

"Later today I will be discussing further steps with the G7...and I am clear that the G7 should be ready to take on more risk," Starmer says.

This includes "the oil price cap…sanctioning Russia’s oil giants…and going after the banks that are enabling the evasion of sanctions".

Starmer also reiterates the UK's willingness to deploy troops on the ground in any ceasefire - "with other Europeans and with the right conditions in place".

"'If Ukraine fails, Europe will be next," Starmer says.

"That is what’s at stake here. That is why we will always stand with Ukraine, and with our allies."

Ukraine and the US are in the "final stages of negotiations" on a minerals deal, Ukraine's Deputy Prime Minister Olha Stefanishyna says.

Zelensky earlier this month rejected a deal that would give the US access to Ukrainian minerals, in exchange for US military support.

But in a post on social media, Stefanishyna says: "Ukrainian and US teams are in the final stages of negotiations regarding the minerals agreement.

"The negotiations have been very constructive, with nearly all key details finalized.

"We are committed to completing this swiftly to proceed with its signature.

"We hope both US and UA [Ukraine] leaders might sign and endorse it in Washington the soonest to showcase our commitment for decades to come."

Earlier, we reported that ex-UK PM Boris Johnson believes the deal is "promising" for Ukraine. We'll have more details on the deal soon.

Image source, Reuters

Russian President Vladimir Putin has called Chinese leader Xi Jinping on the anniversary of Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine, both Beijing and Moscow have confirmed.

Beijing said Putin initiated the call, where he updated the Chinese leader on the "Russia-US contacts" of last week - that is, the talks in Saudi Arabia.

According to the Chinese read-out of the call, Putin told Xi he was "committed to eliminating the root causes of the conflict between Russia and Ukraine and reaching a sustainable and long-term peace plan".

We've heard similar lines from other Russian officials this morning.

For context: Beijing is a key ally to Moscow - it has called for the fighting to stop, but has declined to condemn Russia for invading Ukraine.

Let's go back to President Zelensky's comments at the summit in Kyiv. He says a complete prisoner of war exchange with Russia could be the "start" of ending the war.

There have been 60 prisoner exchanges between the two sides since the war began, including one in December involving hundreds of prisoners swapped.

"This is the fair and just option," Zelensky says, noting that there are thousands of Ukrainians detained in Russia - some who have been held since the Crimea invasion in 2014.

"Thousands - thousands of people held by Russia," he says.

"Russia must set the Ukrainians free. Ukraine is ready to exchange everyone for everyone, and that’s a fair option."

Ukraine does not publish numbers of prisoners of war being held by Russia, but the total is thought to be more than 8,000.

He also warns of any hastily-negotiated deal with Russia, noting: "Peace cannot be simply declared in one hour."

"Putin will not give us peace, or give it to us in exchange for something," he says.

"We have to win peace through strength and wisdom and unity, through our cooperation with you [the leaders at the summit]."

And he says lasting peace will only work if Ukraine is given firm "security guarantees" - last week, Russia said it would not accept Nato troops in Ukraine as part of any deal.

Canada's Prime Minister Justin Trudeau is now speaking at the summit in Kyiv - you can watch live at the top of the page.

Discussing the Russian invasion of Ukraine, he says the world cannot return to a "might is right" approach to international relations.

We'll have more from Trudeau soon.

German President Frank-Walter Steinmeier has just addressed the summit in Kyiv via video link.

"It is Russia that started this war," he says. "Russia may have gained an open ear in the White House but they have not gained an inch of legitimacy."

"Does anybody honestly think that some thoughtless conversations, or some reckless statements, can crush our resolve?" he asks.

"No, quite the opposite. The past two weeks have only strengthened our resolve as Europeans. More than ever we have to stand up for ourselves and Ukraine."

Steinmeier is addressing the summit as Germany prepares to form a new government, with the conservatives winning Sunday's election, and the far-right AfD coming second.

Now let's go back to Kyiv, and the "Support Ukraine" summit.

President Zelensky tells the world leaders: "Today you can see our capital city, you can see our people.

"For those leaders who arrived in Ukraine, we started this day by paying tribute to our soldiers who gave their lives for our country,

"Leaders - offline and online - are supporting our sovereignty our territorial integrity, and we are all aware that this is an unprovoked and criminal war of Russia against Ukraine."

Image source, Reuters

While European leaders support Ukraine in Kyiv, Russia is demanding a full French investigation into what it calls "terrorist" explosions at its consulate in Marseille.

Russia state news agency TASS cites a consulate employee as saying three unidentified devices, two of which exploded, were thrown onto the territory of the mission this morning, causing no damage.

Another report on Reuters says plastic bottles were thrown at the wall of the consulate, with one exploding. More than 30 firefighters attended, the news agency says.

Russia foreign ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova says: "The explosions on the territory of the Russian Consulate General in Marseille have all the hallmarks of a terrorist attack."

This morning we've brought you pictures of world leaders arriving in Kyiv for a summit on the three-year anniversary of Russia's full-scale invasion.

President Zelensky began with an opening address, watched on by 15 world leaders. More countries are joining via link.

Here are some first pictures - we'll have the comments on this page shortly.

Image source, Reuters

Image source, Reuters

Image source, Reuters