It's very early in the morning in Washington DC, where later today talks on Ukraine's future between President Trump, President Zelensky and other European leaders will begin.

Here are the key timings for later on as things stand:

• 12:00 EST (17:00 BST): European leaders arrive at the White House
• 13:00 EST (18:00 BST): Zelensky will be greeted by Trump, before heading into a bilateral meeting 15 minutes later
• 14:15 EST (19:15 BST): Trump greets the European leaders
• 15:00 EST (20:00 BST): The meeting between European leaders and President Trump begins

Zelensky must walk the tightest of lines with Trumppublished at 09:37 British Summer Time 18 August

09:37 BST 18 August

Tom Bateman
US State Department correspondent

Image source, Getty Images

US President Donald Trump will talk first with Volodymyr Zelensky before leaders from at least five European countries, plus the heads of the European Commission and Nato, meet him - an extraordinary show of unity at the White House from Ukraine’s key backers.

The risks for Zelensky are significant.

After the Alaska summit, Trump has pivoted towards Vladimir Putin’s position that seeks to haggle over territory before Moscow commits to any stop in the fighting, a move the Europeans have been desperately trying to prevent.

The Russian leader wants to seize control of the whole of the Donbas region in the east, which Zelensky has repeatedly said he will not concede.

Ukraine's leader must walk the finest of lines today, attempting to hold on to as much of his country as he can without invoking the presidential ire and blame that was meted out to him by Trump in the Oval Office in February.

But at least one of the cards may have flipped in his favour.

The Trump administration now appears willing to give US support to European security guarantees meant to deter further Russian aggression. His negotiator Steve Witkoff likened this to Nato’s Article 5 all-for-one defence guarantee, although officials have made clear Trump has yet to make his mind up over the extent of it.

Nato leaders will press hard for a strong assurance, while Zelensky will be the focus of considerable pressure from Trump, in a hurry to get his prized peace agreement

Europe’s undeniable opportunity at White House meetingpublished at 09:27 British Summer Time 18 August

09:27 BST 18 August

James Waterhouse
Ukraine correspondent in Brussels

Today is as much of a challenge as it is an opportunity for Ukraine and its European friends.

They have a face-to-face chance to mould Donald Trump’s thinking ahead of a possibly three-way summit between Moscow, Washington and Kyiv.

Could they pitch a proposal he would support? Where the front lines would be frozen, and America would be part of a military deterrent to keep it that way?

Zelenksy and his European allies will also be bracing themselves for what Donald Trump might table.

Before the meeting has even started, the US president has already ruled out Kyiv reclaiming Crimea, which has been occupied since 2014, or joining the Nato alliance.

He’s also suggested Zelensky could end Russia’s invasion tomorrow “if he wants to”.

Europe argues only the US has the power to make that happen, but it’s continued to choose dialogue with Moscow, rather than direct action.

Joe Pike
Political correspondent, reporting from Westminster

Image source, Getty Images

Sir Keir Starmer has not said it explicitly, but I am told that the UK privately accepts the premise of “land for peace”.

Negotiations over Ukraine’s future are therefore likely to focus on working out what land can be ceded and how to secure that peace.

UK government sources stress, however, that decisions over territory are a matter for Ukraine - and Ukraine only.

European leaders have welcomed Donald Trump's envoy Steve Witkoff’s endorsement of their proposed security guarantees.

Witkoff called them "game changing".

But they will be hoping for a firm public commitment from Trump as to what the US’s role would be in protecting Ukraine in the event a peace deal is struck.

Image source, Getty Images

After touching down in Washington a few hours ago, Zelensky thanked Trump for his invitation to the White House in a post on X.

"We all share a strong desire to end this war quickly and reliably. And peace must be lasting," he wrote.

"I am confident that we will defend Ukraine, effectively guarantee security, and that our people will always be grateful to President Trump, everyone in America, and every partner and ally for their support and invaluable assistance."

We've been hearing more reaction from Ukraine to the suggestion of US security guarantees in the event of a peace deal.

It is a good thing that the US is talking about "some kind of guarantee", says MP and chair of the Ukrainian parliament's foreign affairs committee Oleksandr Merezhko.

But he tells the Today programme he would like to "see the concrete text about how our American friends view it".

Ukraine should continue to insist on being allowed to take up membership of Nato, he adds. Donald Trump said last night Ukraine would not be permitted to join the military alliance under any peace deal.

Asked about the idea of handing over of Ukrainian territory to Russia, Merezhko says that would be "impossible".

We cannot cede territory because "the stakes are so high, our survival is at stake," he adds.

Russian agreements historically not worth the paper they are written onpublished at 08:50 British Summer Time 18 August

08:50 BST 18 August

Vitaliy Shevchenko
Russia editor, BBC Monitoring, reporting from Washington

The big question is what security arrangements are the US ready to provide? What are they prepared to do should Russia violate any agreements reached this time around - as it has previous deals.

Is Washington prepared to ramp up military aid to Ukraine, provide more lethal weapons, or deploy troops on the ground? That we don't know.

History teaches us is that key agreements reached with Russia have turned out not to be worth the paper they are written on.

A memorandum in 1994 which recognised Ukraine's borders and the treaty on friendship and co-operation signed between them in 1997 did not stop Russia invading Ukraine in 2014.

Then there has been a succession of failed ceasefire agreements.

Frankly, there is nothing to suggest that Vladimir Putin is prepared to keep his word now.

Image source, EPA/ National Police of Ukraine

One of the key issues at the White House talks today will be the two regions of eastern Ukraine known as the Donbas.

Russia wants both Donetsk and Luhansk to be handed over, including areas which are not currently held by them. Russian forces control all of Luhansk and approximately 70% of Donetsk.

Many cities in Donetsk still under Ukrainian control are strategically important, military analyst Justin Crump tells BBC Radio 4's Today programme.

They are the "last buffer" and a "centre point of Ukraine's defence", he says, with railway lines running through them which are critical for military logistics.

The Ukrainians have "fought for every inch of land" so it would be unacceptable to lose this territory to Russia, Crump says. "Whenever they lose a piece of ground to Russia, it is going to be very hard to get back."

Ukraine has defended the Donbas for 11 years, since separatist forces backed by Russia declared independence in 2014. It wouldn't make sense for Ukraine to "give away something strategically important, in return for Russia not attacking them", Crump says

"No-one in Ukraine at this point trusts any Russian promise not to keep attacking," he adds.

As Volodymyr Zelensky and his European allies prepare for their meeting in Washington, Russian attacks on Ukraine continue.

Overnight in Ukraine, regions around the country, including Kyiv, Donetsk, Kharkiv, Sumy, Dnipropetrovsk and Odesa, were hit by a wave of air strikes.

According to an update from Ukraine's air force, Russia's latest barrage of attacks included four missiles and 140 drones - 88 of which were intercepted.

On the front lines in eastern Ukraine, Russia has been churning mile by mile through the wide open fields of the Luhansk and Donetsk regions - also known as the Donbas.

Donetsk has been the focus of most of the battles - and incremental Russian gains - in recent months, as the Russian military aims to surround and overwhelm villages and towns defended by Ukraine.

It has been trying to gain full control of the area along with two more nearby regions, Zaporizhzhia and Kherson, but there has been little movement on these fronts recently.

Shortly after the invasion, Russia held referendums to try to annexe all these regions - in the same way it had annexed Crimea in 2014 - but it has never had them under full control.

Ukrainian forces have faced superior Russian manpower on the front lines throughout the war, but reported shortages in the east have left the key settlements increasingly vulnerable.

• For the latest on the battlefront - head here for the Ukraine war as it is tracked in maps

Vitaliy Shevchenko
Russia editor, BBC Monitoring, reporting from Washington

When Donald Trump says Crimea was "given" to Russia by his predecessor Barack Obama "without a shot being fired" - that is untrue.

At least two Ukrainian soldiers are known to have been shot dead by Russian forces in Crimea in 2014.

Serhiy Kokurin was shot while guarding a military unit in Simferopol in March. Another Ukrainian serviceman, Captain Valentyn Fedun, was wounded during the storm, but survived.

In April that year, Major Stanislav Karachevsky was shot dead by a Russian paratrooper at a military unit outside Saky.

In another case, the Ukrainian naval vessel Cherkasy, a minesweeper, was attacked by Russian forces when trying to leave Crimea.

Steve Witkoff, Donald Trump's special envoy who was in Alaska on Friday, told US media yesterday that Russia has agreed to allow the US and Europe to give Ukraine "robust" security guarantees as part of a potential peace deal.

But it is not yet clear what shape these guarantees would take.

Witkoff told CNN it was agreed at the Alaska summit that the US and Europe could "effectively offer Article 5-like language to cover a security guarantee".

Article 5 is the Nato agreement which states an armed attack on one member country is considered an attack on all its 32 members. The famous clause holds that Nato countries will come to the defence of an ally which comes under attack.

Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelensky described the US's security guarantee offer as "historic".

The so-called coalition of the willing - a group of Ukraine's allies including the UK, France and Germany - have pledged to protect peace in Ukraine once it is achieved.

This group has suggested it would deploy what the British government has described as a "reassurance force" once the war is over, which Downing Street said would "help secure Ukraine's skies and seas and regenerate Ukraine's armed forces".

But, as our diplomatic correspondent Paul Adams points out, exactly what or who such a force would be made up of remains unclear.

Thomas Mackintosh
Live reporter

Image source, Getty Images

A few hours ago, Donald Trump ruled out Ukraine regaining Crimea in any peace agreement, an issue that has been at the heart of this war for over a decade.

The Black Sea peninsula in southern Ukraine was illegally annexed by Russia in 2014, eight years before Moscow launched its full-scale invasion.

Few shots were fired, but Crimea was seized at gunpoint and at least two Ukrainian soldiers are known to have been shot dead by Russian forces.

Russian leader Vladimir Putin later admitted hatching the land-grab in an all-night meeting with his officials days after Ukraine's pro-Russian leader Viktor Yanukovych was ousted in Kyiv.

In 1991, along with the rest of Ukraine, Crimea voted for independence from the collapsing Soviet Union.

But for historical and contemporary political reasons, Russians have long described Crimea as part of their territory - a controversial claim Putin has repeated often, and one which has been rejected by most other nations.

Crimea is legally viewed as still being part of Ukraine, despite its illegal seizure by the Kremlin.

After annexing it, Russia quickly organised a referendum in March 2014. The result, in which Crimeans apparently voted to join Russia, was swiftly rejected as a sham by the international community.

Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelensky has been adamant that he has no power to give up Crimea - and has repeatedly rejected any suggestion his country should give up claim to it.

"There's nothing to talk about here," Zelensky said in April this year. "This is against our constitution."

Article two of Ukraine's constitution states that its sovereignty "extends throughout its entire territory" which "within its present border is indivisible and inviolable". Any change to Ukraine's territory has to go to a national referendum, which must be authorised by the Ukrainian parliament.

A warning from history for Ukrainepublished at 07:24 British Summer Time 18 August

07:24 BST 18 August

Joe Inwood
World news correspondent

Nato membership is off the table for Ukraine, it seems.

President Donald Trump could not have been more explicit in his social media post, ruling it out in all caps, as if to emphasise the point.

What is being offered instead is some sort of US-backed security guarantee, which would replicate the collective defence effects of Nato’s Article 5, without actually admitting Ukraine to the alliance.

Speaking last night, Trump’s all-purpose international envoy Steve Witkoff said: "The United States is potentially prepared to be able to give Article 5 security guarantees, but not from Nato, directly from the United States and other European countries. That is big. I mean, really big."

He went on to say that this plan had Kremlin agreement, the "first time we had ever heard the Russians agree to that".

While it is certainly a potentially significant development in this war, Witkoff is only half correct in his final point.

In 1994, the US, UK and Russia signed what became known as the Budapest Memorandum. It was part of attempts to get Ukraine, along with other former members of the recently collapsed Soviet Union, to give up their nuclear weapons.

In return, the three powers would provide security guarantees for Ukraine, prohibiting the use of using military force or economic coercion. Less than 20 years later, the memorandum was shattered.

Russia took the Crimean Peninsula in 2014, setting in chain the series of events that led to today’s meeting at the White House.

Of course, the failure of one security guarantee does not mean they cannot work. Certainly, Trump will put more stock in a document that bears his signature than something signed by a predecessor.

It does, however, offer a lesson from history for Ukraine, one they will be painfully aware of.

Let's take a look at some of the key events leading up today's gathering at the White House:

Friday

• US President Donald Trump met Russian leader Vladimir Putin in Alaska to discuss Ukraine, a meeting which ended after less than three hours without an agreement reached
• At a subsequent media briefing, Trump dropped his demand for a ceasefire, instead calling for a permanent peace deal
• Following the summit, Trump invited Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelensky to the White House for today's meeting

Sunday

• European leaders announced they would also attend the talks in Washington DC, including the leaders of the UK, Germany, France, Italy and Finland

• US envoy Steve Witkoff told US media that Putin had agreed to possible Nato-like security guarantees for Ukraine
• Zelensky called this decision "historic" and reiterated any decision on Ukraine's future must be made with its involvement
• European leaders from the so-called coalition of the willing aiming to offer guarantees to Ukraine held a meeting to discuss their plans to present to Trump
• Hours later, Trump posted on social media that there was "no going into Nato" for Ukraine and "no getting back" of Crimea - which Russia illegally annexed in 2014

Zelensky knows he needs a different approach this time in Washingtonpublished at 06:57 British Summer Time 18 August

06:57 BST 18 August

Katy Watson
Reporting from Kyiv

The war here is still raging - and President Zelensky today will impress upon Donald Trump that the killing needs to stop before working on any peace deal.

He’ll be flanked by European allies today, presenting a united front to make it clear to Donald Trump that Ukraine needs to be involved in any discussions about its future - and that its security needs to be guaranteed.

President Zelensky won’t want a repeat of the disastrous meeting he had with Trump in February, in which he got a dressing down from the US president. But since then, he’s realised he has to change his approach in dealing with Trump.

In a statement he posted on social media this morning, Zelensky said Ukrainians were fighting for their land and for their independence.

"I’m confident we will defend Ukraine," he said, adding that his people would always be grateful to President Trump. "I hope that our joint strength with America, with our European friends, will force Russia into a true peace."

Vitaliy Shevchenko
Russia editor, BBC Monitoring, reporting from Washington

Deadly Russian attacks on Ukrainian town and cities continued hours before the summit in Washington.

In the north-eastern city of Kharkiv, at least four people, including a child, have been killed after a Russian drone hit an apartment block, mayor Ihor Terekhov says.

Part of the building has collapsed and more people are feared to be under the rubble.

In Zaporizhzhia region, one person died and six were wounded, including two children, in a Russian attack using glide bombs, regional administration head Ivan Fedorov says.

Image source, Reuters

Today's talks could prove more crucial for Ukraine than Trump-Putin summitpublished at 06:24 British Summer Time 18 August

06:24 BST 18 August

Frank Gardner
Security correspondent

Image source, Getty Images

It is quite possible that the meeting in the White House later could prove even more crucial to the future of Ukraine - and for all of Europe's security - than last Friday's US-Russia summit in Alaska.

On the surface, that Putin-Trump reunion seemed to live down to every expectation. There was no ceasefire, no sanctions, no grand announcements.

Were Ukraine and Europe about to get cut out of a deal cooked up behind closed doors by the world's two foremost nuclear powers? Not, apparently, if Ukraine and its partners can prevent it.

The presence of Sir Keir Starmer, President Macron, Chancellor Merz and other leaders alongside President Zelensky in Washington is about more than making sure he does not get ambushed in the Oval Office again, in the way he did on 28 February.

They are determined to impress upon Donald Trump two things: firstly, that there can be no peace deal for Ukraine without Ukraine's direct involvement and secondly, that it must be backed by 'cast-iron' security guarantees.

Above all, Europe's leaders want the US president to see that Ukraine and Europe present a united front and they are eager to ensure he is not being swayed by his obvious personal rapport with Vladimir Putin into giving in to the Russian leader's demands.

• Read the rest of Frank Gardner's analysis here

The White House has released the official timetable for the day ahead.

Here are the key timings:

At midday EST (17:00 BST) the European leaders will arrive at the White House.

An hour later, President Zelensky will be greeted by Trump before heading into a bilateral meeting at 13:15 EST (18:15 BST).

Another hour on, at 14:15 EST (19:15 BST), Trump will greet the European leaders ahead of a photo call with the group.

Then at 15:00 EST (20:00 BST) the multilateral meeting between all of the leaders and President Trump will kick off.

There's no official schedule for when the meeting might wrap up.

In addition to Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelensky, Trump will also be welcoming a number of other European leaders to the White House today.

The following leaders are expected to attend:

• UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer
• French President Emmanuel Macron

• German Chancellor Friedrich Merz
• Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni
• Finnish President Alexander Stubb

• Nato Secretary General Mark Rutte
• European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen

In an update on Truth Social, Trump said it would be a "big day", and a "great honour" to host "so many great European leaders".

He added that since his election last year, the US has become the "hottest country anywhere in the world".

A few hours ago, Trump posted on Truth Social, putting pressure on the Ukranian leader.

Here's his full post:

"President Zelenskyy of Ukraine can end the war with Russia almost immediately, if he wants to, or he can continue to fight," Trump wrote.

"Remember how it started. No getting back Obama given Crimea (12 years ago, without a shot being fired!), and NO GOING INTO NATO BY UKRAINE. Some things never change!!!" he added.

Image source, Reuters