Steve Rosenberg
Russia editor

A short while ago the Kremlin spokesman confirmed that Steve Witkoff has arrived in Russia.

He didn't say where in Russia. But there are reports that Witkoff’s jet has landed in St Petersburg - which is exactly where Russia’s President Vladimir Putin will be today.

The Kremlin hasn't confirmed that the pair will meet, but, if Steve Witkoff is there today, as beautiful as St Petersburg is, I doubt he’s there for the sightseeing.

It would be their third meeting since February.

But why now? Well, in recent weeks it has been clear that US President Donald Trump has been growing frustrated at the lack of a ceasefire in Ukraine.

He's expressed that publicly and – which is quite rare - he's criticised Russia, even threatened more sanctions. The White House seems to suspect that Moscow is playing for time.

So, perhaps the aim of the visit is to try to overcome various obstacles on the path to a ceasefire.

We know, too, that there are US talks on Iran tomorrow in Oman. Steve Witkoff will be there. It's likely that the subject of Iran would come up at any meeting today with the Russian president.

James Gregory
Live reporter

Image source, EPA

The Ukraine Defence Contact Group was a United States initiative when it was formed in 2022.

For three years the US chaired meetings to discuss how Kyiv's allies would coordinate military aid. But since Donald Trump's return to the White House, the US has sought to take more of a back seat.

Today will be the first time since the group's creation that the US defence secretary will not be physically present for an in-person meeting.

The US president has repeatedly claimed the US is spending too much on Ukraine's defence and has instead called on Europe to step up.

Last month, Trump also decided to temporarily withdraw military aid for Ukraine, as well as invoking a temporary pause on intelligence sharing, following a dramatic breakdown in relations and an acrimonious Oval Office encounter with Ukraine's Volodymyr Zelensky.

There are further signs today that Trump is continuing his approach of bringing Russia back into the fold.

Russian media is reporting that his special envoy, Steve Witkoff, has touched down in St Petersburg, and Russia's Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov has today said it is "realistic and necessary" to aim for a "normalisation" of US-Russia relations.

James Waterhouse
Ukraine correspondent in Kyiv

Volodymyr Zelensky is not expected in Brussels today, but his defence minister Rustem Umerov is.

Some of his senior aides are currently in Washington negotiating an energy deal between Kyiv and Washington.

It would see the US receive a proportion of Ukraine’s future profits from its natural resources in exchange for continued military aid, but negotiations have stalled in recent weeks.

If an agreement is eventually reached, it would likely eclipse any announcements that emerge from today’s summit in Belgium.

Image source, Reuters

Ahead of the meeting in Brussels this morning, Germany's Ministry of Defence detailed the support it will be providing Ukraine from the €11bn it says it is committing until 2029:

• 4 Iris-T air defence systems, including 300 guided missiles
• 300 reconnaissance drones
• 120 ManPads, or Man Portable Air Defence System (shoulder-launched surface-to-air missiles)
• 25 Marder infantry fighting vehicles
• 15 Leopard 1A5 main battle tanks
• 14 artillery systems
• 100 ground surveillance radars
• 30 Patriot guided missiles
• An additional 100,000 rounds of artillery ammunition (bringing the total volume of artillery ammunition supplied by Germany to almost 500,000 rounds)

Responding to the announcement, Ukraine's Defence Minister Rustem Umerov writes on X that the package will "help us defend our skies... and strengthen our positions on the battlefield".

"Thank you, Germany, for standing by our side. Together, we will ensure a just and lasting peace in Europe," he adds.

James Waterhouse
Ukraine correspondent in Kyiv

Ukrainian military chiefs say the intensity of Russian assaults on the front line have increased by 30% in the past week.

The arrival of spring often comes with battlefield opportunities as the ground hardens, making it easier for armoured vehicles and soldiers to move.

Kyiv believes this is what Russia is doing along the border in Ukraine’s north-eastern Sumy region, where 47 assaults were reported over the last seven days.

It’s thought tens of thousands of invading troops have gathered inside Russia itself, as they prepare for a major push.

Despite the continued American-led ceasefire efforts, there is no evidence suggesting that Russia has given up on its goal of taking as much of Ukraine as possible.

Vitaliy Shevchenko
Russia editor, BBC Monitoring

The Ukrainian air force says that over the past 24 hours Russia has used one ballistic missile and 39 drones to attack Ukraine.

According to its morning update, 24 Shahed strike drones were shot down, and 13 dummy drones carrying no explosives fell causing no damage.

The ballistic missile hit a warehouse storing tissues and children’s nappies in the central Ukrainian city of Dnipro, mayor Borys Filatov says.

“There were no ‘Nato officers’ or ‘mercenaries’ there,” he adds. “I’ve spoken to the owner myself.”

Jonathan Beale
Defence correspondent, reporting from Brussels

Estonia’s Defence Minister, Hanno Pevkur, has suggested that Russia might try to achieve some kind of deal with the United States on Ukraine by 9 May – Victory Day in Russia – marking their defeat of Nazi Germany.

He said for the Kremlin “dates are very important”.

Pevkur said he believed that Russia might “strive probably towards this (date) to get some kind of deal, some kind of ceasefire or whatever".

Vitaliy Shevchenko
Russia editor, BBC Monitoring

Image source, Reuters

Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov has praised the US and criticised European nations for their positions on Ukraine.

Speaking at a news conference in Kazakhstan, he said that the EU and the UK are “completely ignoring the underlying causes of the current situation”, while the United States “is willing to look into the essence of the problem”.

Lavrov insisted that Ukraine would be required to make territorial concessions as part of any peace settlement, and suggested that the US supported this: “They understand that returning to the borders of 1991, as Zelensky is still demanding, is impossible”.

According to him, Ukraine settlement “must be reliable, strong, lasting, which can only be achieved by removing the underlying causes of this conflict”.

On 1 April, Lavrov’s deputy Sergei Ryabkov said US proposals on Ukraine “completely lacked” suggestions on how to resolve them.

US President Donald Trump's special envoy Steve Witkoff has arrived in Russia, according to Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov.

Peskov said he would announce any meeting that Russia President Vladimir Putin held with Witfkoff.

Witkoff was last in Russia back in March, when he met with Putin.

He also met Kirill Dmitriev, an economic envoy for Putin, in Washington earlier this month.

Image source, EPA

The EU's foreign policy chief argues that Russia is escalating the war, saying attacks on Ukraine, and especially on civilians "have been the deadliest since the start of the war".

"It is clear that Russia is really escalating. It takes two to want peace, but it only takes one to want war and it's clear that Russia wants war," Kaja Kallas tells BBC Radio 4's Today programme this morning.

Questioned about her recent comment that China is the "key enabler" of Russia's war, Kallas says 80% of the dual-use goods that Russia is using in its military are coming from China.

"It's clear that if China was against the war they could easily stop it. Without China, Russia couldn’t sustain the war at the same scale," she says.

Kallas says today's meeting will look at what more countries can do to support Ukraine, and what potential peacekeeping missions could look like.

On her way into the meeting in Brussels, Kallas also tells reporters EU countries have so far committed "over €23bn (£20bn)" for Ukraine's military this year, which she says is higher than last year.

Jonathan Beale
Defence correspondent, reporting from Brussels

The European Union’s Foreign Policy Chief Kaja Kallas says she’s still not clear about the role of a European-led reassurance force in Ukraine if a ceasefire is agreed.

Before yesterday’s meeting of the coalition of the willing she said there needed to be clarity about the goal of any such mission - with nations being asked to contribute to long term security guarantees for Ukraine.

Asked today whether she was any clearer after yesterday’s meeting she tells me “no” .

We've just heard opening remarks from German Defence Minister Boris Pistorius, who is co-chairing today's meeting.

He says Germany has increased its budget for military support to Ukraine by €3m (£2.6m) this year, and will commit to spending more than €8m (£6.9m) in the coming years.

Pistorius says that a "window" may be opening to take up negotiations over the future of the war, but adds that the window "will only open if we show Russia that Ukraine wants to, and will be able to continue fighting if necessary".

With more advanced weapon systems, sufficient missiles and ammunition, and well- trained forces, Ukraine will still be capable of defending itself even after a possible ceasefire or peace deal, he says.

"Russia should be under no illusion, Ukraine is becoming stronger. We must and we will make sure of that."

Image source, Reuters

The UK's defence secretary continues by saying that at the group's last meeting in February "all 50 nations said that we would step up further", pledging £1.5bn in aid.

"Today we will pledge billions more", Healey says.

He mentions the extra funding the UK government has announced today - £350m which includes money for new equipment and to repair existing equipment, adding this will help strengthen Ukraine and "boost British business".

Both Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky and US Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth are present virtually, he says.

Healey ends by sending a "message to Ukraine", saying "we stand with you in the fight and we will stand with you in peace".

Healey says the group's primary job is to "get urgent military aid in to the hands of Ukrainian war fighters".

He urges those in the room, whose countries aren't offering an increase in spending today, to "look again" - standing by Ukraine is the "strongest deterrent" against future Russian attacks, he says.

UK Defence Secretary John Healey, who is co-chairing the meeting with his German counterpart Boris Pistorius, is now delivering his opening remarks.

You can follow along by clicking the Watch live button at the top of the page.

Image source, Getty Images

At the last meeting of the group of nations in February, the UK announced a £150m package for Ukraine for drones, tanks and air defence systems.

Defence Secretary John Healey, who was chairing the meeting for the first time, said at the time: "2025 is the critical year for the war in Ukraine. Ukrainians continue to fight with huge courage – military and civilians alike, and their bravery – fused with our support – has proved a lethal combination."

Image source, Getty Images

As we've been reporting, the United States is not expected to send a representative to Nato's headquarters in person, with Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth reportedly set to dial in virtually.

While Donald Trump's special envoy Steve Witkoff has touched down in Russia this morning, according to Russian media.

Axios reports that Witkoff is set to meet Russian President Vladimir Putin later today. He already met him earlier this year.

Witfkoff, a billionaire real estate developer, has previously criticised European peace proposals for Ukraine. Last month, he labelled Sir Keir Starmer's plan to provide an international reassurance force in the region as a "posture and a pose".

He has, meanwhile, praised Putin as "super smart", saying: "I don't regard Putin as a bad guy".

So what can we expect this morning?

At about 08:30 BST (09:30 in Brussels), we're expecting to hear opening remarks from John Healey and Boris Pistorius as the meeting gets under way.

They'll then be discussing matters in private with their allies, before leading a joint press conference at 11:30 BST.

Stay with us as we bring you the latest lines.

Image source, Getty Images

As we've mentioned, the Ukraine Defence Contact Group is meeting in Brussels today.

The group of 50 nations is made up of Ukraine's allies and meets to discuss how to co-ordinate military support for Kyiv in its fight against Russia.

Today is the 27th time it has been convened. Since 2022, the vast majority of meetings (25) have been chaired by the United States.

But since Donald Trump's return to the White House, the US has taken a back seat with the UK taking over that duty. This will be the second time John Healey has chaired such a meeting.

US Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth will not attend the meeting in Brussels in person, with reports suggesting he will be dialling in to participate via video call.

Let's bring you some more details about what that package of support for Ukraine will look like.

About £350m will be provided by the UK, with extra funding from Norway via the UK-led International Fund for Ukraine – a mechanism that uses financial contributions to rapidly procure military equipment.

It includes £160m to provide repairs and maintenance to vehicles and equipment the UK has already provided Kyiv.

Funding for radar systems, anti-tank mines and hundreds of thousands of drones worth more than £250m is also part of the package. You can find more details about it here.