James Landale
Diplomatic correspondent in Kyiv

Ukraine invaded the Kursk region last August and since then, Russian forces have been retaking areas in that occupied territory.

In the last few days, the Americans and Russians have been suggesting that a large enclave of Ukrainian soldiers have been close to being surrounded by Russian forces.

Donald Trump asked Vladimir Putin to spare those Ukrainian soldiers. The Russian leader has said he will think about it but it would be better if they surrendered.

Ukraine, however, says these claims are nonsense and there's no evidence of any of their forces being surrounded.

The respected international think tank - the Institute for the Study of War - that monitors all the frontlines has said they have seen no verified geolocated evidence that Ukrainian forces are being surrounded.

What's happening is a retreat of Ukrainian forces step-by-step as Russian forces make gains but a retreat is not an encirclement.

Image source, Reuters

As world leaders take part in the virtual meeting hosted by UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer, let's take a look at what's happening on the ground:

• The Russian defence ministry says it recaptured two villages - Rubanshchina and Zaoleshenka - in the western Kursk region which Ukrainian forces took last August
• The ministry adds it intercepted 126 Ukrainian drones overnight, with 102 downed over the southern Volgograd and Voronezh regions
• Drones were also shot down in Belgorod, Bryansk, Rostov and Kursk, Russian authorities say

• Ukraine says it destroyed 130 out of 178 drones launched by Russia overnight that targeted 14 regions across the country including Chernihiv, Dnipro, Kyiv, Kharkiv, Odesa and Sumy

• Russia also fired two ballistic missiles, the air force says in updates on Telegram

• Elsewhere, fourteen people, including two children, were injured after a missile attack on a residential area of Kryvyi Rih - the hometown of Ukraine's leader Volodymyr Zelensky - with extensive damage to apartment blocks, homes and shops, according to the area's regional governor

Hannah Miller
Political correspondent

I'm told by Downing Street that there are representatives of 26 countries, plus Nato and the EU, on this morning's call.

Five leaders have spoken so far: Prime Minister Keir Starmer, French President Emmanuel Macron, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, Canada's new Prime Minister Mark Carney and Nato Secretary General Mark Rutte.

It's not clear yet if everyone will get to speak. We'll bring you more updates as we get them.

Keir Starmer tells world leaders they have to be prepared to defend a potential peace deal in Ukraine.

Speaking at at the virtual summit, Starmer says securing peace in Ukraine will require "strengthening" the country's defence with funding and other support.

He also says a future ceasefire deal will require Ukraine's allies to be "prepared to defend any deal ourselves through a coalition of the willing".

Starmer adds: "If Putin is serious about peace, it's very simple, he has to stop his barbaric attacks on Ukraine and agree to a ceasefire."

He then asks the cameras to leave so the meeting can continue in private.

Image source, Getty Images

The UK's Prime Minister Keir Starmer tells world leaders that Vladimir Putin will "sooner or later" have to "come to the table".

At a virtual meeting of the "coalition of the willing", Starmer pushes for further backing for Ukraine and calls for more pressure on Russia.

We'll bring you more lines here as we get them.

Image source, Getty Images

We've just seen footage of French President Emmanuel Macron tuning in to the virtual summit with global leaders.

As a reminder, around 25 leaders are expected to join the call hosted by UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer, including those from Europe, Canada, Ukraine, Australia and New Zealand as well as officials from the EU commission and Nato.

The prime minister will hold a news conference after the meeting - so stick with us for more.

Image source, Getty Images

After Italy's Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni appeared to distance herself from plans for a military force in Ukraine after a potential ceasefire, it's unclear whether she will join Keir Starmer's virtual summit today.

Asked whether Meloni might attend on BBC Radio 4's Today programme, an MP from the ruling Brothers of Italy party, Giangiacomo Calovini, says: "I think there is a discussion about it".

He suggests there was "some contact" between Keir Starmer and Meloni a few hours ago to discuss what today's meeting would be about.

"Our position now is that if the meeting is only to talk about the troops in Ukraine, it's not important now," he says.

Calovini adds that this does not mean that Italy won't send troops to Ukraine at some stage, but suggests it is "too early" to be talking about this now.

He says: "Absolutely we are not against sending Italian troops to help a population, but I think at this moment probably there are no troops that are able to solve the problem in Ukraine."

The UK’s former national security adviser says he is "pretty wary" about the idea of British forces being sent to Ukraine in the event of a ceasefire.

Speaking to BBC 5 Live Breakfast, Lord Ricketts says: "At worst case, that could land up with European forces fighting the Russians. Certainly nobody wants that."

He says, if this happens, it is crucial that the US offers support "to deter the Russians from attacking it".

On the virtual meeting today, Ricketts says the role for the Europeans is to show "real solid support for Ukraine, both equipping and funding it" but also with boots on the ground for "reassurance".

The former adviser adds Starmer has played an "effective game" since the Oval Office clash between Zelensky and Trump, putting the UK "at the centre" of the European effort.

"It's been good for his reputation, been good for Britain's reputation, but it's a long way from having delivered success," he says.

James Landale
Diplomatic correspondent in Kyiv

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky will be looking for two things from today's meeting in London.

The first is on the question of a short-term immediate ceasefire - he will want to hear from the Europeans what extra help they can give to Ukraine to monitor and verify a ceasefire if one were ever agreed.

The Ukrainians have made it very clear they're capable of monitoring the skies and the sea but when it comes to that really long frontline in the east, they're going to need the help of, not just the Americans but also, the Europeans.

The second is on the question of a future post-war scenario if any long-term agreement were made.

Ukraine will want to know what a reassurance force might look like, how many members will be in the coalition of the willing and what forces are they going to provide.

The crucial point is they will want that force to be as big as possible to try and persuade the Americans to come in too because the US is, at the moment, resisting providing that air cover backstop.

So the aim of today is for the Europeans to put as much as possible on the table to persuade the Americans to agree to help guarantee Ukraine's security in the future.

Image source, EPA-EFE/REX/Shutterstock

At the start of the month, Starmer hosted European allies - and Canada’s leader - in London.

Today’s virtual meeting, though, is expected to include leaders from further afield.

Heads of government from Australia and New Zealand are expected to join leaders from the EU, Nato and Europe in the prime minister’s online meeting room.

On Ukraine, EU Commission chief Ursula von der Leyen recently welcomed the US-led peace talks in Saudi Arabia, and has already announced a large defence package dubbed ReArm Europe.

Nato chief Mark Rutte, meanwhile, recently met with Donald Trump at the White House, where he praised the president’s role in breaking the deadlock with Russia. He also emphasised the need for Nato members to boost defence spending to ensure lasting peace.

Image source, Getty Images

"The idea is right - and we support it - but there are questions that we need to discuss," Putin said when asked about the proposals for a ceasefire in Ukraine.

In a press conference on Thursday, the Russian leader set out a number of tough conditions for peace and questioned how the plan for a 30-day ceasefire would work.

"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?," he asked.

Putin said he wanted to “eliminate the root causes of this crisis” - leading to questions over whether he is ready for a ceasefire or playing for time.

In response Zelensky, who had endorsed the ceasefire deal earlier in the week, accused Putin of being "manipulative" and called for more sanctions on Russia.

The Russian leader had set so many pre-conditions "that nothing will work out at all", Zelensky claimed.

• Putin sets out conditions for Ukraine ceasefire

Image source, Reuters

We can bring you more on Prime Minister Keir Starmer's comments ahead of this morning's virtual summit on Ukraine.

"We can't allow President Putin to play games with President Trump's deal," he says in a statement.

"The Kremlin's complete disregard for President Trump's ceasefire proposal only serves to demonstrate that Putin is not serious about peace."

Earlier this week, Vladimir Putin said he agreed with the idea of a ceasefire in Ukraine but told a press conference that "questions" remain about the nature of a truce.

"If Russia finally comes to the table, then we must be ready to monitor a ceasefire to ensure it is a serious and enduring peace," Starmer adds.

"If they don’t, then we need to strain every sinew to ramp up economic pressure on Russia to secure an end to this war."

Image source, Reuters

Representatives from the US will not be present at today's virtual summit on the war in Ukraine.

On Friday, the US president praised talks held with Russian President Vladimir Putin on the US-proposed ceasefire deal in Ukraine as "good and productive".

This comes after Putin and US envoy Steve Witkoff met in Moscow on Thursday evening, after which the Kremlin said it shared the US's "cautious optimism" over a peace process.

Trump said in a Truth Social post on Friday that the talks provided "a very good chance that this horrible, bloody war can finally come to an end".

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, however, accused Putin of trying to drag out talks to continue the war, while Sir Keir Starmer said the Russian president could not be allowed to "play games" with ceasefire proposals ahead of the virtual summit later today.

• US had productive talks with Putin over Ukraine war, Trump says

Image source, Reuters

As we've been reporting, the UK's prime minister will host a virtual meeting of world leaders this morning to discuss the war in Ukraine.

Downing Street says Starmer will use the call to ramp up military support for Ukraine and economic pressure on Russia "to force Putin into negotiations" - saying that now is the time for "concrete commitments".

Around 25 leaders are expected to join the call, including those from Europe, Canada, Ukraine, Australia and New Zealand as well as officials from the EU commission and Nato.

Adam Goldsmith
Live reporter

Image source, Getty Images

Prime Minister Keir Starmer warns Russia’s Vladimir Putin “is not serious about peace”, ahead of a virtual gathering of leaders for talks on Ukraine later this morning.

As many as 25 leaders are set to dial in remotely, as Starmer says Putin cannot be allowed to “play games” with Trump’s ceasefire proposals and urges his counterparts to offer security guarantees for Ukraine.

The virtual meeting later today is the latest gathering of the PM’s so-called "coalition of the willing" - announced when European leaders visited London at the start of this month.

There have been several significant developments since then, including a US-proposed 30-day ceasefire - backed by Zelensky but yet to be endorsed by Putin.

Despite the current standoff, US President Donald Trump remains optimistic of a deal, saying he held "good and productive" talks with Putin on Thursday.

We’re expecting the leaders to log into today’s virtual summit a little later this morning.

Until then, we’ll bring you a rundown of the diplomacy that’s taken place over the last few days, as well as what it’s like on the ground in Ukraine right now. Stick with us.