Vitaliy Shevchenko
Russia editor, BBC Monitoring

A Ukrainian activist and volunteer has been shot dead in the southern port city of Odesa this morning. Police have published photos of a man suspected of killing 31-year-old Demyan Hanul, who died at the scene.

National Police chief Ivan Vyhivsky is travelling to Odessa to investigate the killing, Interior Minister Ihor Klymenko says.

A Russian court sanctioned Demyan Hanul’s arrest on suspicion of damaging or destroying military memorials. In 2014, he took part in clashes with pro-Russian activists which resulted in a deadly fire at the local Trade Unions House.

Ukraine is marking Volunteer Day today.

• For context, Ukraine pays tribute to men and women who formed the first volunteer military units in the country on Volunteer Day.

Putin has outlined that for him a number of "questions" remain about how the ceasefire truce put forward by the US in recent days would work.

A particular sticking point could centre around Putin's demand that a ceasefire depends on removing the "root causes" of the war.

He did not explicitly set out yesterday what those root causes are. But at the start of the war Putin said his goal was to "demilitarise and denazify" Ukraine, and ensure it remained neutral - in other words keep it out of Nato.

Here's what else Putin mentioned yesterday:

• Putin raised questions about what would happen in the Russian region of Kursk - an area where Ukraine launched a military incursion last August, and Russia claimed in recent days to have taken back control of
• He asked whether Ukraine would use the 30-day ceasefireto "mobilise", "rearm", "train people", particularly in light of the situation in Kursk
• The Russian leader then questioned who would "police" any ceasefire - and determine whether anyone breaks it
• There is a difference in the visions of a ceasefire that the two leaders are seeking. Ukraine wants two stages - a quick ceasefire pending negotiations for a longer-term settlement. In contrast, Russia thinks all should be decided in one deal

Putin has not explicitly set out what he would like to see in any deal. Zelensky has suggested with so many pre-conditions "nothing will work out at all".

Our colleagues have taken a look at whether Putin is ready for a ceasefire, or if he's playing for time.

Image source, PA Media

We're starting now to get some international reaction to Putin's televised comments about the ceasefire yesterday.

UK Foreign Secretary David Lammy says it would be "wrong" for Putin to place any conditions on a ceasefire.

In line with the US proposal for an initial 30 day ceasefire, Lammy suggests a pause in fighting would be a "first step" towards talks on a "full settlement".

Lammy is currently in Canada for a meeting with his G7 counterparts. This morning he posted a picture of him on social media site X with Canada's foreign affairs minister Mélanie Joly writing: "It’s more important than ever that, together, we stand shoulder to shoulder with Ukraine in efforts to reach a just and lasting peace."

Ukrainecast will be going live later today to discuss the latest developments in Ukraine.

The team will be joined by BBC correspondents to bring you analysis on the prospects of a Ukraine ceasefire and the obstacles to peace.

You'll be able to watch the live recording on this page from 12:30 GMT - and you can send the team your questions before then by emailing ukrainecast@bbc.co.uk.

Ben Tavener
Moscow producer

Image source, Reuters

In a brief call with reporters, the Kremlin has both confirmed that US envoy Steve Witkoff met President Vladimir Putin late last night, and stated - emphatically - that the Russian leader’s position is aligned with Donald Trump’s, albeit with some work ahead for both sides.

Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told us that Russia "was given additional information" by Witkoff, and that President Putin had in turn given him "information and additional signal for President Trump".

President Putin "agreed" and "expressed solidarity" with President Trump’s position, Peskov said, but pointed to yesterday’s press conference in which the Kremlin leader had "voiced a number of questions that need to be answered together… There’s still a lot ahead to be done".

The Kremlin shared the "cautious optimism" expressed by US National Security Adviser Mike Waltz over the Ukraine peace process, Peskov said.

It appears the Kremlin still wants to convey a willingness, a constructiveness, emphasising a shared vision with the White House, on the face of it.

But equally, it is clear it will not be cornered into a hasty decision.

Once again, the Kremlin says: we agree, in principle, but let’s wait and see.

We can now bring you details of another question that was posed to the Kremlin this morning after media reports that Russia-Ukraine envoy Keith Kellogg was removed from peace talks at the request of Russia.

NBC News cited a US administration official and a Russian official in their report.

Spokesman Dmitry Peskov refuses to confirm - adding that it would be "absurd" to suggest Russia is interfering in US affairs.

"We’re building relations on basis of mutual respect. It’s their decision who they appoint."

Some more now from the Kremlin spokesperson who has been addressing media this morning.

Asked about potential talks between President Trump and President Putin, the spokesperson says there is "no exact time" that has been agreed for those.

However, they add, talks can be arranged once Trump has been informed by Witkoff about the talks in Moscow.

The spokesperson says there is an "understanding" on both sides that talks need to take place.

Sarah Rainsford
BBC Eastern Europe Correspondent

The Kremlin has confirmed that Steve Witkoff, the US envoy, was in Moscow and held a meeting with Vladimir Putin.

The Kremlin spokesman, Dmitry Peskov, says "Russia was given additional information" at the meeting, and Vladimir Putin gave his own "information and additional signals for President Trump".

He says the two leaders did plan to talk, but would only agree timings once Witkoff had returned and briefed the US president.

A Kremlin spokesman has indicated there is "cautious optimism" following Putin's statement on a potential ceasefire yesterday.

Speaking to journalists in a daily news briefing, Dmitry Peskov says: "There is a lot ahead to be done but the Putin expressed his solidarity with Trump’s position".

He repeated Putin's point that there are still "questions" over how this would work moving forward.

Image source, Reuters

Ukraine's minister of foreign affairs says Vladimir Putin's comments about the ceasefire plan show the Russian president "seeks to continue the war".

In a post on X, Andrii Sybiha says: "This is the difference. Ukraine said 'yes' to US ceasefire proposal. Because Ukraine wants peace. Putin, rather than saying 'yes', puts forward various conditions."

"Ukraine seeks an end to the war. Putin seeks to continue the war. The rest of his words are just a smokescreen."

As we've reported, Putin has said he agreed with the idea of a ceasefire but that "questions" remain about the truce. We'll get into some of the obstacles he's raised shortly.

In an update, Russia's Ministry of Defence says they intercepted and destroyed 28 Ukrainian UAVs (unmanned aerial vehicles) overnight.

That figure includes four over Moscow, five over Belgorod and one over the Black Sea.

In an earlier update, we brought you news from Russia that an oil facility had been attacked. There's more on that in our previous post.

Image source, Reuters

We're still trying to confirm whether Trump's Middle East envoy held talks with Russian President Putin yesterday evening. While we do that, we'll answer this: who is Steve Witkoff?

Age: 67 (68 tomorrow)

Job: US Middle East envoy

Background: Raised in Long Island, New York, billionaire businessman Witkoff trained as a real estate developer in one of America's most cut-throat markets

Relationship with President Trump: A long-time Republican donor, he has known Trump for decades. "The president sees Steve as one of the world's great dealmakers," a White House official told Axios. The two men are also long-time golfing companions

Diplomacy: Witkoff doesn't have a diplomacy background. But, he was in Moscow in February to help facilitate a deal that saw the US and Russia swap prisoners, and played a part in brokering the current ceasefire agreement between Israel and Hamas. He was also in Saudi Arabia, for the first US-Russian face-to-face talks over the war in Ukraine

Relationship with President Putin: Witkoff met Putin in February "for a very extended period, like about three hours" in Trump's words, and Russian media say they had another meeting on Thursday

As soon as we know what happened in the meeting, you'll know too.

Image source, Getty Images

Donald Trump's special envoy Steve Witkoff was in Moscow yesterday to try and convince Russia to accept a 30-day ceasefire.

He'd been due to hold talks with Russian officials - but we haven't had confirmation from the Kremlin or US officials on whether any meetings took place with Russian President Vladimir Putin.

But here's what we can piece together:

Witkoff was seen leaving the US embassy in Moscow after spending about an hour inside on Thursday, according to reports in Russian media.

On Friday, Russia's state-run media said the air traffic monitoring website Flightradar had showed a plane believed to be carrying Witkoff had left Vnukovo Airport in Moscow on Thursday evening. The BBC has been unable to verify these reports.

We might learn more at the Kremlin's daily news conference soon.

As the map above shows, Russian forces have slowly expanded the amount of territory they control over the past year, mostly in the east of Ukraine.

Meanwhile, in the Russian region of Kursk (which Ukraine invaded last August and held part of as a bargaining chip) Putin now claims Russia is back "in control" and Ukrainian troops there have been isolated.

The head of Ukraine's military, Oleksandr Syrsky, has also indicated that some of its troops were withdrawing from Kursk.

We have more maps showing the latest status of territory in Ukraine.

The Ukrainian air force has said Russia launched 27 drones towards the country overnight - with air defence systems successfully shooting down 16.

Nine did not reach their target and have since been located with "no negative consequences", the air force adds this morning.

Kharkiv and Donetsk were both affected, it says.

Earlier, we brought you details shared by Ukrainian officials on injuries.

Sarah Rainsford
Eastern Europe Correspondent

Image source, Reuters

Vladimir Putin has no interest in stopping his war right now, and he’s made that clear in his response to Donald Trump’s call for an immediate ceasefire.

Putin doesn’t want to insult Trump.

He wants to sound reasonable. And he wants to be dealing directly with America on this, through phone calls - or even talks.

But his priority is to protect what he sees as Russia’s interests on the ground.

Most immediately - that means ending the Ukrainian incursion into Kursk, in southern Russia, which infuriated, even humiliated, Putin.

The Kremlin says it’s making gains there - and it won’t want to stop now.

Then there’s the bigger picture. Putin’s response to the ceasefire call so far suggests that he intends to push for everything he’s always wanted in Ukraine - which means its full subjugation.

No western security guarantees, and no rearming.

So this is test-time for Donald Trump: the man who’s always said Russia will listen to him; that he understands Putin. But the United States wants an immediate halt to the fighting. Russia quite clearly does not.

A little earlier we reported on Ukraine's claims of drone attacks by Russian forces overnight.

Separately, Russia has also reported attacks overnight. The governor of the Krasnodar region in the south, Veniamin Kondratyev, says the Tuapse oil complex was hit.

He writes that a gasoline tank caught fire and as of the early hours of the morning emergency services, including 121 personnel, were working to fight the blaze. He adds that there had been no reports of casualties.

The Reuters news agency reports that the refinery primarily supplies China, Malaysia, Singapore and Turkey.

Reuters have also spoken to Ukraine's security service SBU, who say Ukrainian drones struck gas compressor stations in Russia's Tambov and Saratov regions.

A former US diplomat says Russian President Vladimir Putin attaching a number of conditions to the ceasefire deal is a cause for concern.

Rose Gottemoeller, who also served as the Nato deputy secretary general, says: "I always worry when the Russians say 'in principle I support it, but' - that's exactly what we've seen from Putin."

She tells BBC Radio 4's Today programme: "It's up to the US to work with their Ukrainian colleagues to call him on that and to say - what do you really need now?"

Gottemoeller says sanctions are a good way to put pressure on Russia. Last night, the US imposed more sanctions on Russia's oil and gas sectors.

"The Russian Federation and Putin himself have intimated they want to be clear of the sanctions that have been imposed on them heavily," she says. "Trump has a a lot of cards to play in terms of ramping up the pressure on Russia."

Vitaliy Shevchenko
Russia editor, BBC Monitoring

There are indications that Russian forces have stepped up efforts to invade Ukraine’s northern Sumy region, building up on their success in Kursk region across the border.

The head of the Sumy regional administration, Volodymyr Artyukh, says that "enemy subversive groups have been trying to enter practically across the whole stretch of the border".

"Their actions have intensified. The Russian army has deployed serious reserves there. That’s why there’s going to be a lot of shelling in the border areas," Artyukh told Ukrainian Suspilne TV, external.

He also says the Russian army has been using more glide bombs and drones to attack the region.

To avoid civilian casualties, the regional defence council has launched the mandatory evacuation, external of eight villages in border areas, or more than 500 people in total.

Laura Gozzi and Paul Kirby
BBC News

Image source, EPA

Russia is ready for a halt in fighting, says Vladimir Putin, but "there are nuances".

Those nuances are so key to his thinking they could scupper any hope of a 30-day ceasefire.

They are demands that he has had throughout Russia's full-scale invasion, and before. And for Ukraine and its Western partners, many of them are going to prove unacceptable or impossible to fulfil.

"We agree with the proposals to cease hostilities," he started positively, only to add: "This cessation must be such that it would lead to long-term peace and eliminate the root causes of this crisis."

Nobody would disagree with the need for long-term peace, but Putin's idea of the root causes of the war revolve around Ukraine's desire to exist as a sovereign state, beyond Russia's orbit.

Ukraine wants to be part of Nato and the European Union - so much so, it is enshrined in the constitution.

President Trump has already cast doubt on Nato membership, but Putin has repeatedly dismissed the idea of Ukraine as a state at all.

And that underpins many of the nuances he sketched out.

In essence, Putin is looking for security guarantees in reverse.

• Read more here