Lana Lam
Live digital reporter

Image source, Reuters

At least 20 people have died and dozens were injured overnight following Russian strikes in Ukraine, as Kyiv argued the Kremlin's war goals are "unchanged" despite pressure from the US to quickly resolve the conflict.

European leaders - and other global powers - are rallying to sort out what's next for Kyiv, with high-level talks scheduled in the days ahead.

Meanwhile, the US has pulled its military and intelligence support for Ukraine, cutting the country off from crucial satellite imaging.

On Monday, Ukraine's leader Volodymyr Zelensky will meet with Saudi Arabia's Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman before a Ukrainian delegation - minus Zelensky - meet US officials in Jeddah on Tuesday to discuss a possible ceasefire.

On Tuesday, France will host military chiefs of staff from nations offering to provide military support if a peace deal is reached. The meeting follows UK Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer's announcement of a "coalition of the willing" to back any peace deal - though a former UK national security adviser warns any plans for UK peacekeepers could last "many years".

Starmer's standing on the global stage has skyrocketed of late - images of him welcoming Zelensky after his bruising encounter with Trump at the White House made headlines around the world. But what the new attention Starmer means for the prime minister domestically is still unclear. Laura Kuenssberg unpicks some of what's next for the PM as his government's foreign policy takes centre stage.

We're pausing our live coverage shortly - but you can stay up-to-date on the most recent strikes in Ukraine with our full story. We also have some insight from our correspondents on what the US, Russia and Europe are thinking ahead of talks in Saudi Arabia.

Fighting continues: At least 21 people have been killed by Russian strikes overnight, Ukrainian officials say. Russia's defence ministry says its forces intercepted 31 Ukrainian drones over its territory last night.

UK and Ukrainian officials meet in Kyiv: Zelensky says diplomatic teams from his country and the UK had a "highly productive meeting" today and discussed joint steps that "could bring us closer to peace and accelerate diplomatic efforts". Zelensky is due to travel to Saudi Arabia tomorrow ahead of a meeting of senior Ukrainian and American officials.

Europe sceptical of Putin's desire for peace: The European Union's foreign policy chief says Russia's overnight strikes show the Kremlin has "no interest in peace". Poland's Prime Minister Donald Tusk says: "This is what happens when someone appeases barbarians. More bombs, more aggression, more victims."

'Fighting blind': A Ukrainian army major told the BBC the situation is "like fighting blind" after the US government suspended Ukraine's access to certain satellite imagery. Images of the battlefield taken by American firm Maxar will no longer be available to Ukraine, which had been using them to track Russian troop movements, and assess damage after airstrikes.

Ambulance crew likely responding to first strike when second attack hitpublished at 16:11 Greenwich Mean Time 8 March

16:11 GMT 8 March

Image source, Google Map/Telegram

By Fridon Kiria, BBC Monitoring and Paul Brown, BBC Verify

We have confirmed the locations of three overnight strikes on Ukraine through analysis of footage released on various social media platforms.

Dramatic footage from Dobropillya in Donetsk region shows a series of explosions near a residential block in the centre of the town. The presence of ambulance crews in the video suggests that they were already attending an initial strike when the same spot was hit for a second time.

Although the footage is dark, there were sufficient details to match with a 360° image available on Google to confirm the location. 11 people died in the attack, according to the National Police.

Elsewhere in Donetsk we have confirmed the location of a strike in a residential area of Kostiantynivka through analysis of aftermath footage.

We have also verified footage of a large fire in an industrial area of Bogodukhov, Kharkiv region. Regional head Oleh Synyehubov said the building was hit by drones and that three people were killed.

As we've been reporting, Russia carried out multiple strikes on Ukraine overnight. We've looked at statements from regional officials in Ukraine to piece together what happened.

Donetsk: At least 17 people were killed, officials say. At least 11 people have been killed and another 30 - including five children - have been injured in Dobropillya. And six people are known to have died in other parts of the region, according to the area's regional head, Vadym Filashkin.

Kharkiv: Officials say at least three men have been killed and another seven injured in a drone attack on Kharkiv.

Kherson: A 54-year-old man was killed by an unmanned aerial vehicle dropping explosives on a "civilian car" this morning, the head of the regional military administration, Oleksandr Prokudin, says.

Image source, Getty Images

A former national security adviser has warned the potential deployment of UK troops to protect peace in Ukraine could last for "many years".

Lord Mark Sedwill - also a former head of the civil service - told the BBC's The Week in Westminster that the UK would need to be "willing to display strategic patience to give the Ukrainians the [security] assurances they need" in the event of a peace deal.

Both the UK and France have said they would be willing to send troops to work to uphold any ceasefire in Russia's war with Ukraine.

Lord Sedwill said if Russia believed it could just "wait us out" while UK troops were deployed in Ukraine, then any effort to protect a peace deal would not succeed.

"So we have to be willing to sustain such an effort for potentially quite a long period, could be many years," the crossbencher added.

• You can read the full story on Lord Sedwill's comments

Image source, Getty Images

Last Sunday Sir Keir Starmer announced a "coalition of the willing" to back any peace deal with Moscow.

Details have been vague - but UK officials said on Thursday that about 20 countries are interested in joining together to help Ukraine.

Not all of them are expected to send troops, but some could provide other forms of support.

Speaking to Laura Kuenssberg, Norwegian Foreign Minister Espen Barth Eide also weighed in on what support could look like.

He warns about "putting the cart before the horse", saying "we need to make sure that we define what is there to defend".

Norway is involved in discussions about Ukraine's future security, and Eide says it will be represented at a meeting of European defence chiefs in Paris in the coming days.

The specifics of what Oslo might offer Kyiv is still under discussion, he tells Kuenssberg. "But that conversation is important, and ... Europe will not only ask for a place at the table, but also suggest that we will be helpful and constructive for lasting peace."

Image source, Reuters

Poland's Prime Minister Donald Tusk has responded to the overnight strikes in Ukraine that have killed at least 20 people.

In a post on X, he says: "This is what happens when someone appeases barbarians. More bombs, more aggression, more victims. Another tragic night in Ukraine."

Yesterday, Tusk announced that all men in Poland will undergo military training, which could increase the army from about 200,000 to around half a million - creating a reserve that is "comparable and adequate to the potential threats".

Poland, which borders Ukraine, also plans to spend 4.7% of its economic output on defence this year - the highest proportion in the Nato alliance.

Adam Easton
Warsaw Correspondent

Poland has ramped up defence spending since Russia’s full-scale invasion of neighbouring Ukraine in 2022.

It has signed arms contracts worth around $20 billion (£15.5 billion) with the United States to buy 250 M1A2 Abrams battle tanks, 32 F-35 jets, 96 Apache helicopters, Javelin missiles and artillery rocket systems.

Warsaw has also signed contracts with South Korea to purchase K2 tanks and FA-50 light combat aircraft.

There is growing anxiety among Poles about their future security following President Trump’s decision to suspend military supplies to Ukraine. Most Poles believe supporting Ukraine is in their own security interests.

This week, the deputy mayor of Milanówek, Mirosław Kaznowski, told me that a friend of his has decided to invest in a start-up to build low-cost underground bomb shelters for businesses and homes. He told me his friend said interest was high.

The reality is Ukraine and Europe still need US military mightpublished at 13:28 Greenwich Mean Time 8 March

13:28 GMT 8 March

James Waterhouse
Ukraine correspondent in Kyiv

Despite Donald Trump's White House continuing to be more friendly to Moscow and hostile to Kyiv, opposition MPs and European allies have forced Volodymyr Zelensky to mend his relationship with the White House.

The reality is Ukraine and Europe still need the military might of America, in case Russia was to break any future ceasefire or invade more of eastern Europe.

Zelensky is due to travel to Saudi Arabia tomorrow, ahead of a meeting of senior Ukrainian and American officials to discuss the terms of a potential truce.

He has proposed that, as part of an initial agreement, there should be a mutual pause on the targeting of infrastructure. As reinforced by last night, Russia has firmly rejected this idea.

In fact, the Kremlin’s demands are not softening, whereas Ukraine is continually being forced to compromise.

The US State Department says that US Secretary of State Marco Rubio held a call with Ukrainian Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha late on Friday.

During the call, Rubio told Sybiha that President Donald Trump was determined to end the Russia-Ukraine war as soon as possible, the department says.

Rubio is said to have underscored Trump's goal of ending the three-year war quickly, and emphasized that "all sides must take steps to secure a sustainable peace", department spokesperson Tammy Bruce says.

Want to delve deeper into the recent developments of the ongoing Russia-Ukraine conflict?

Then pop on your headphones or turn up your speakers to listen to some of our colleagues on the latest Ukrainecast episode.

Global News podcast host Jackie Leonard chats with our chief international correspondent Lyse Doucet, Ukraine correspondent James Waterhouse and BBC Monitoring's Russia editor Vitaly Shevchenko.

They discuss US President Donald Trump's latest comments, the prospects of peace in Ukraine and the much-touted minerals deal.

Image source, Getty Images

The European Union's foreign policy chief has said Russia's overnight strikes on Ukraine shows the Kremlin has "no interest in peace".

In a post on X, Kaja Kallas writes: "Russian missiles keep relentlessly falling on Ukraine, bringing more death and more destruction.

"Once again, Putin shows he has no interest in peace."

Kallas - the former prime minister of Estonia and vice-president of the European Commission - adds: "We must step up our military support - otherwise, even more Ukrainian civilians will pay the highest price."

Image source, SAUDI ARABIAN FOREIGN MINISTRY/Getty Images

The war in Ukraine is high on the diplomatic agenda next week, with several high-level talks expected.

There are several items in the agenda - including talks in Saudi Arabia aimed at establishing a ceasefire.

• President Volodymyr Zelensky says he will travel to Saudi Arabia on Monday for talks with Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman
• Their meeting comes a day before Ukrainian officials are expected to hold fresh talks with their US counterparts on Tuesday in Jeddah, where an initial ceasefire with Russia is set to be discussed - Zelensky won't attend these discussions
• In Europe, EU leaders have been scrambling to come up with a plan - both for how to support Ukraine as US support falls away and how to boost Europe’s own heavily-depleted defences
• France will host talks on Tuesday with military chiefs of staff whose nations are ready to offer Ukraine military support after any peace deal ending the war with Russia

Ukrainian authorities have released video footage showing flames engulfing a multi-storey building in Dobropillya following Russian strikes overnight.

Firefighters on the scene can be seen battling the flames.

Image source, Getty Images

As we have been reporting, at least 11 people have been killed and another 30 - including five children - have been injured in Dobropillya, in Ukraine's eastern Donetsk region.

Across the region another six people are known to have died, according to Governor Vadym Filashkin.

This includes one person killed in Myrnograd, three people killed in Pokrovsk, one person killed in Kostyantynivka and another person killed in Ivanopillya.

Across those towns and villages another eight people have been injured and a number of houses, shops, administrative buildings and gas pipe lines have been damaged, Filashkin adds in an update on Telegram.

An oil tank at one of Russia's biggest oil refineries has been damaged by falling debris from a Ukrainian drone attack on the site.

In an update on Telegram, the governor of the north-west Leningrad region says two drones targeting the Kirishi oil refinery - run by Russian oil and gas company Surgutneftegas - were intercepted.

"Air defense forces shot down one drone on approach and destroyed another over the territory of the enterprise, " the governor, Alexander Drozdenko, says on Telegram.

"The external structure of one of the tanks was damaged when debris fell," he adds. There were no injuries.

The Kirishi refinery produces about 2.3 million tonnes of gasoline, or 5.3% of Russia's total. According to Reuters citing industry sources, the refinery also produces 7.6% of the Russia's diesel fuel, 16.3% of its fuel oil and 3.4% of its aviation fuel.

It has been another week of intense diplomacy around the war in Ukraine, especially after the tense exchange in the White House last week between US President Donald Trump and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky.

As world powers have looked for ways to end the conflict, Russia's military campaign in Ukraine continued.

The BBC's Analysis Editor Ros Atkins takes a look at how this has been playing out on the ground.

Image source, Getty Images

Former Ukrainian MP Hanna Hopko - who also used to chair the foreign affairs committee - has been questioning the intentions of US President Donald Trump's administration after he revoked access to satellite imagery and paused military aid.

"Russia is massively, daily attacking us with cruise missiles, ballistic missiles and kamikaze drones," Hopko tells the BBC. "This is why we in Ukraine ask why Russia is not being asked to stop killing Ukrainians.

"Trump says he wants to be a meditator and he doesn't want to take [a] Ukrainian or Russian side, but now it seems depriving Ukraine is helping the Russian side."

She adds that so far, there haven't been similar demands made of Russia to return Ukrainian prisoners of war or exchange hostages.

Image source, Reuters

If you're just catching up with the news this morning, we've been reporting that at least 14 people have been killed and as many as 30 injured following Russian strikes on Ukraine overnight.

Here's what you should know:

• There's been another wave of Russian air attacks on Ukraine overnight, with at least 14 people killed and dozens more injured across the country
• Eleven people were killed in strikes on the town of Dobropillya in the Donetsk region, and another three died in a drone attack in Kharkiv
• Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said the air strikes showed that Russia's objectives in the war are "unchanged"
• Zelensky added that it is very important to increase sanctions on the Kremlin
• The overnight assault came hours after the US confirmed it had limited Ukraine's access to commercial satellite imagery, after it paused military and intelligence aid earlier this week
• Ukraine has continued its counter-offensive against Russia, with the Russian defence ministry saying it intercepted 31 drones over its territory last night

We have more now on the attack in Dobropillya, in the Donetsk region.

Ukraine's Ministry of Internal Affairs says at least 11 people have died and 30 others are injured, including five children.

The ministry says Russia "launched a combined strike on the city", hitting eight five-storey buildings, an administrative building and damaging 30 cars.