James Landale
Diplomatic correspondent

The idea of a partial month-long truce between Russia and Ukraine is just that - an idea put forward by the French. Details are scarce.

The proposal was floated by President Macron in an interview with Le Figaro on his way to yesterday’s summit. Under the hypothesis, both Russia and Ukraine would agree to a truce for four weeks in the air, on the sea and around energy infrastructure.

But it would not cover ground fighting along the frontline in the east.

"In the event of a ceasefire, it would be very difficult to verify (a truce) along the front was being respected," Macron told the newspaper.

The French Foreign Minister, Jean-Noël Barrot, told radio outlet France Inter a truce would allow the West to see if Russia was ready to act in good faith and begin negotiations for a longer-term peace.

Only after that was agreed would any European “assurance force” deploy to Ukraine.

Britain’s ambassador in Washington, Lord Mandelson, appeared to give credence to the idea on Sunday in an interview with ABC News when he said: “Ukraine should be first to commit to a ceasefire and defy the Russians to follow."

But UK government officials have made clear this French idea is not an agreed proposal. This morning the Armed Forces Minister, Luke Pollard, played down the idea of a truce, telling the BBC: "A number of options that are being discussed at the moment. None of them have been agreed at this stage."

Of course, any truce would have to be agreed by the Russians and there is no evidence yet they are willing to do that.

The UK's Minster of Armed Forces says that "no agreement" has been made between the French and the British about a one-month Ukraine truce proposal that has been reported.

Asked about the plan, which Macron told a French paper about on Sunday, Luke Pollard tells BBC Breakfast: "That's not a plan we currently recognise."

He adds that "a number of different options" are being discussed "privately".

Pollard says that what matters is constructing a plan that brings lasting peace "as soon as possible".

He also tells BBC Breakfast that the US is "a key ally" and will "have the UK's back", citing the "deep defence relationship" between the two countries.

This comes after UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer held a summit of European leaders to discuss achieving peace in Ukraine, only two days after Ukraine President Volodymr Zelensky's dramatic visit to Washington DC.

The path to peace in Ukraine won't be a straight - or easy - onepublished at 08:55 Greenwich Mean Time 3 March

08:55 GMT 3 March

Chris Mason
Political editor

Europe's get together - with Canada as its transatlantic plus one - at Lancaster House was in the diary already before Friday's flare up in the Oval Office, but it took on a greater significance in its aftermath.

Russia, watching on, teased that this was an anti-Trump gathering. Sir Keir and others were insistent it was nothing of the sort.

What the summit felt like was Europe trying to prop back up the plan for peace in Ukraine, while recognising publicly again that the continent will need the US to be confident the war can end permanently.

If a peace deal can be done, there are big implications for many families around the UK, including the possible deployment of soldiers and airmen and women to Ukraine - a volatile, contested place that Russia has had designs on for decades.

Their role would be peacekeepers, yes, but many would see them as being on the frontline of freedom.

There is still a lot of diplomacy to come. We can expect plenty more days like the last few at home and abroad.

The path to peace could yet be long.

• Read more on how the path to Ukraine's peace may not be so straightforward for Starmer

Image source, EPA

The truce proposed by France, which Macron says would see Russia and Ukraine laying down arms for a one-month period, was announced last night by the French president.

He told a French paper that it would see a truce between the two warring nations "in the air, at sea and on energy infrastructure".

We can now bring you some fresh reaction from France, as Eléonore Caroit - from the French foreign affairs committee - has just joined the BBC Radio 4's Today programme.

She tells Today that Macron has been clear in his plan, saying that Europe needs to increase its military spending throughout the continent.

A second more political decision, she says, is this proposal of "a two-state ceasefire".

"If that is respected, then it would also apply to ground combat after the one-month period with security assurances by the French and UK military."

(The UK has yet to comment on the proposed plan.)

She adds that she thinks it is a "good plan" and sends a "very strong message" to Europe "that if we want, we can do something".

"This shows that we're capable of making proposals and that these proposals can lead somewhere," Caroit says, adding that frozen Russian assets could be used, and "could replace US aid without costing anything".

Image source, EPA

Following the summit in London on Sunday, Starmer announced a four-point plan to work with Ukraine on ending the war and defending it from further Russian aggression.

In case you missed that evening address, here's a quick look at what's included in the plan:

• Keep military aid flowing into Ukraine, and to keep increasing the economic pressure on Russia
• Ukraine must be present at any peace talks, and any lasting peace must ensure the country's sovereignty and security
• In the event of a peace deal, Ukraine's defensive capabilities must be boosted to deter any future invasion
• Develop a "coalition of the willing" to defend a deal in Ukraine and to guarantee peace afterwards

Elsewhere on Sunday night, Starmer's French counterpart told Le Figaro newspaper that Paris and London want to propose a one-month truce between Russia and Ukraine "in the air, at sea and on energy infrastructure" - we'll have more on that in our next post.

As we continue to cover global leaders' attempts to secure peace in Ukraine, let's bring you the latest from the conflict.

A Russian drone attack has injured eight people - including a seven-year-old child - in Ukraine's second largest city, its mayor says.

Kharkiv's mayor, Ihor Terekhov, says the drone struck a multi-storey apartment building late on Sunday night. It left three houses damaged and around 150 windows shattered.

An 80-year-old man and a seven-year-old boy were among the injured, Terekhov says.

In total, the Ukrainian military says it shot down 46 of the 83 drones Russia launched overnight. Another 31 drones were "lost" and did not reach their targets.

Laura Kuenssberg
Reporting from President Zelensky's media briefing at Stansted Airport

Having been slammed in the White House, then feted in the UK, President Zelensky's mood, in public at least, was not downhearted.

"If we don't keep our spirits up, we're letting everyone down," he told the media last night before leaving the UK.

He made positive noises about Keir Starmer and Emmanuel Macron's plan to grab hold of the plans for peace before presenting them to the US, for Europe to up its game, developing its own more convincing security guarantees.

Zelensky told me he would be prepared to give Donald Trump one of his demands - to sign the minerals deal that would give the US access to some of Ukraine's resources.

Beyond that, despite all the pressure of a three-year full-scale war, under all the demands from the White House which, fairly or not, has the power to protect or abandon his country, on Sunday night Zelensky stood firm.

He told us it was wrong at this stage to discuss giving up territory Russia has captured, and it was too early to be "talking about lines", which Starmer had mentioned earlier.

He would not apologise to Trump or express regret for anything that happened in the Oval Office, which at the moment, the US president's camp is repeatedly calling for.

Even the boss of Nato called for Zelensky to find a way to reset his relationship with the US leader.

Yet in the stuffy room at Stansted, there was not much in Zelensky's tone that suggested he was interested in making nice.

He said he had travelled for hours to get to the White House - his visit was a mark of respect. He also said he would never "insult anybody" and the conversation as it erupted had not been a positive one for anyone.

Zelensky chose his words very carefully. He tried to an extent to avoid a post-mortem of what went on. He was not rude about Trump - he barely mentioned him by name - and suggested tensions would pass.

If you watched the full horror of what happened in the Oval Office you may well not blame Zelensky for feeling it's simply not for him to say sorry.

Image source, EPA

US President Donald Trump - not in attendance at this weekend's European summit - has taken to his Truth Social platform to warn that less time should be spent "worrying about Putin".

More time, he writes in the early hours on his social media platform, should be spent "worrying about migrant rape gangs, drug lords, murderers, and people from mental institutions entering our Country".

He adds that this would ensure "that we don’t end up like Europe".

A reminder: The Ukraine talks in London on Sunday, which were largely attended by European leaders, were organised before the heated confrontation unfolded between Zelensky and Trump on Friday.

Image source, Reuters

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has taken the opportunity to express his "gratitude" for US support.

"We understand the importance of America, and we are grateful for all the support we’ve received from the United States," Zelensky writes on X, not long after leaving the UK.

This comes days after the heated exchange between Zelensky and the US president in the Oval Office, where Trump and his vice-president told Zelensky he was not thankful enough for US military and political support.

Zelensky adds in his post that there has "not been a day" that Ukraine hasn't felt thankful, describing this as "gratitude for the preservation of our independence".

He also notes that help from its international partners is "for their own security" too, and that "security guarantees are the key" to lasting peace.

Hafsa Khalil
Live reporter

Image source, EPA

Good morning and welcome to our live coverage of the latest in the Ukraine-Russia war.

You join us this morning after a busy weekend that saw Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky join UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer for a summit of European leaders, his plane touching down just hours after his dramatic visit to Washington DC.

But the fiery clash in the Oval Office - with Zelensky on one side and US President Donald Trump and Vice-President JD Vance on the other - only partially dominated the news cycle over the weekend.

On Sunday, Starmer as well as other global leaders - mostly European - announced their plans for ending the war in Ukraine.

In case you missed it, here's a quick look back at what happened over the weekend:

• Starmer said the UK would finance Ukraine with an additional £1.6bn of exports to buy an extra 5,000 air defence missiles, while also announcing a "coalition of willing" to guarantee peace in Ukraine
• Zelensky also visited King Charles at Sandringham, ahead of his trip back to Ukraine

• Ukraine is still willing to sign a US minerals deal, Zelensky said, after not signing it during his contentious Washington visit
• The UK and France also proposed a potential one-month truce between Russia and Ukraine, according to French newspaper Le Figaro

Stick with us as we continue to bring you the latest.