Image source, EPA

Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelensky has posted about the talks his delegation had with US representatives in Saudi Arabia earlier this week.

He says the "conversation was entirely constructive" in a post on X, external, adding that Ukraine is "committed to moving quickly towards peace".

Zelensky says his representatives told US officials that "Ukraine was ready for an air and sea ceasefire, but that the US proposed extending it to land".

"Ukraine welcomes this proposal," he continues, adding that the "control of such a ceasefire remains an important issue, and he appreciates America's "willingness to organise the technical aspects of such control".

Image source, Getty Images

The former US special representative for Ukraine negotiations, Kurt Volker, says Russia is unlikely to take part in ceasefire talks in good faith.

Volker, who worked under the first Trump administration, believes Russia sees this week's talks as a stalling tactic.

"[Moscow wants to] tie us up in chasing things in negotiations while they continue to pursue efforts on the ground," he told the BBC Radio 4's Today programme earlier.

He says a phone call between the Russian and American leaders is likely after a "few rounds" of talks and will give a better idea of Putin's intentions.

"This is very much a matter between Trump and Putin."

As diplomacy continues, so does the fighting.

A large-scale attack on the southern Kherson region overnight and this morning has damaged several homes, killing one man, according to Ukraine's officials.

Emergency crews have been at the scene, searching through the rubble for anyone trapped.

Image source, Getty Images

Image source, Getty Images

Image source, Getty Images

Laura Gozzi
Europe reporter

Earlier today, Kremlin aide Yuri Ushakov talked to Russian media about the ceasefire proposal. His comments were the closest thing we've heard to an official Russian response to the Jeddah talks – although he was careful to point out he was just sharing "his point of view" and that President Putin's response would come later.

But who is Ushakov?

As former ambassador to the US, 77-year-old Yuri Ushakov has a good idea of how to talk to Washington.

Days before the full-scale invasion of Ukraine, he accused the Biden administration of peak "hysteria" in suggesting Russian troops were preparing to go to war.

But within days of Donald Trump's return to the White House, he seemed much more amenable – and made clear Russia was ready for talks if the US sent "relevant signals".

Image source, Reuters

As US officials arrive in Moscow, Russian President Vladimir Putin and Belarusian leader Alexander Lukashenko are meeting in the Kremlin.

We're expecting the pair to hold a news conference after their talks, and we'll bring you any key comments on the Ukraine ceasefire proposal.

Donald Trump's envoy Steve Witkoff has arrived in Moscow for talks with Russia on a temporary Ukraine ceasefire, the BBC's US partner CBS News reports.

We'll be bringing you updates and analysis on those talks as we get them, so stay with us.

Image source, Getty Images

Kremlin aide Yuri Ushakov has said Ukraine joining Nato is out of the question, as the US understands it.

This has always been Russia's position.

Nato – the North Atlantic Treaty Organization – was set up in Washington DC in 1949 by 12 countries: Belgium, Canada, Denmark, France, Iceland, Italy, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, Norway, Portugal, the UK and the US.

It was created, external to counter the expansion of the former Soviet Union – a group of communist republics that included Russia.

Members agree, external that if one is attacked, the others will help defend it.

In 2008, Nato said Ukraine could eventually join, but Russia has always opposed this, as it does not want more military power moving closer to its borders.

After Russia's invasion, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky asked for the process to be fast-tracked.

Last month, he even said he would step down if it secured membership for Ukraine.

But former Nato chief Jens Stoltenberg said Ukraine could join "in the long term" but not until after the war.

The world is watching Russia, waiting for the country to say whether it will accept or reject the US-proposed ceasefire.

Here's what has happened this morning:

• Kremlin aide Yuri Ushakov has rejected the ceasefire proposal, saying it would only give Ukraine a temporary respite
• This follows a phone call yesterday between Ushakov and US National Security Adviser Mike Waltz, as Washington tried to get Moscow to agree to the temporary truce
• Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelensky has already agreed to the proposal and says his country is "determined" to work "as quickly as possible" with its partners
• More diplomatic developments are expected later, with G7 foreign ministers meeting in Canada to discuss Ukraine and the path to peace
• Russian President Vladimir Putin could also comment on the ceasefire proposal later today after meeting Belarusian leader Alexander Lukashenko
• Nato chief Mark Rutte is also meeting US President Donald Trump at the White House this afternoon

We’ll bring you the latest updates and analysis – stay with us.

Laura Gozzi
Europe reporter

Image source, Reuters

In comments to Russian media this morning, Kremlin aide Yuri Ushakov outlines Russia's position on the 30-day ceasefire proposal.

In a nutshell, Ushakov rejects it, saying it would amount to nothing more than a temporary respite for the Ukrainian military and a chance for it to regroup.

He also says that Russia is seeking a "long-term peace settlement in Ukraine that takes into account Moscow's interests and concerns", and adds that a "normal exchange of opinions" between Russia and the US is "taking place in a calm manner".

Ushakov also says the US understands that Ukraine's membership of Nato is out of the question.

Laura Gozzi
Europe reporter

Vladimir Putin and Belarusian leader Alexander Lukashenko are holding a bilateral meeting in the Kremlin now.

Andrei Kolesnikov, a special correspondent for daily Kommersant, said on Telegram that an "unprecedented number of journalists have been accredited" for the meeting between Putin and Lukashenko.

The two leaders will hold talks, then have lunch, and a press conference will follow, according to Kolesnikov.

Earlier this morning, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said Putin may address Ukraine and the ceasefire proposal at a news conference following his meeting with Lukashenko if journalists ask him questions on the topic.

Asked whether Putin and Lukashenko would limit themselves to answering questions about their bilateral meeting or whether Putin could also speak about Ukraine, Peskov said: "Everything will depend on the journalists' questions."

Journalists allowed at press conferences of this kind are carefully vetted, and their questions are often pre-agreed with the Kremlin, so Peskov is certainly suggesting that Ukraine will be brought up and that Putin may well address it.

More now from UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer.

Referring to Russia's actions in Ukraine, Starmer says "strength abroad" requires "security back at home".

"More now than ever, national security is economic security and strength abroad, and we definitely need that more than ever at the moment, but that demands security back at home," he says in his speech.

"Because you're not strong if your energy security is exploited by Putin."

He adds that national security is key to achieving national renewal.

Image source, EPA-EFE/REX/Shutterstock

As we've been reporting, the US and Ukraine have backed a US-proposed 30-day ceasefire in the Ukraine-Russia war.

A joint statement calls it an "immediate, interim 30-day ceasefire" that can be extended if both sides agree. It will cover land, sea and air, rather than just sea and air as in earlier proposals.

Some European leaders have reacted to the deal. German Chancellor Olaf Scholz called it "an important and correct step towards a just peace for Ukraine". Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez said it was positive news, while Latvian President Edgars Rinkevics said Ukraine had shown a real desire for lasting peace, adding that "the ball is now in Russia's court".

Russia hasn't said yet if it will accept the deal. We should hear more from them today.

We've just heard from UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer in a national speech, warning that instability in Ukraine will have a "chokehold on our future".

"I profoundly believe that if we don't secure a just peace... then that insecurity will continue," he tells his audience.

He says this will mean higher bills, rising prices and "a chokehold on our future" that will be "much, much harder to tackle".

Starmer adds that Putin's "appetite for conflict... will only grow," with Russia already "menacing" the UK's national security.

He says this is why tough choices, like raising defence spending, must be made.

• Starmer's speech is about plans to "reshape" the UK, warning it has become "flabby" and "overcautious" - Follow our other live page for the latest on what he is saying

The Kremlin may be in talks with US officials over a White House-backed ceasefire proposal for Ukraine, but Putin isn’t really interested in stopping the fighting, says a former senior British diplomat.

Andrew Levi, who was based at the British embassy in Moscow in the 2000s, says Putin might pause his forces in Ukraine briefly – but only to keep Trump happy.

"Almost certainly, [Putin would] regroup during a ceasefire period, only to attack later," Levi tells BBC Radio 5 Live Breakfast this morning.

He also says Russia is likely to be asked to give up far less than Ukraine, which the US appears to expect to surrender some of its internationally recognised territory under the proposal.

That’s assuming a ceasefire happens at all.

"I think it's probably 50-50," Levi says. "Whether it's sustained after that I think is a much lower chance."

Vitaliy Shevchenko
Russia editor, BBC Monitoring

Image source, State Emergency Service of Ukraine/X

Three people have been killed and 14 wounded in Russian attacks on Ukraine’s eastern Donetsk region, regional administration chief Vadym Filashkin says in his morning update, external.

According to him, more than a hundred residential buildings have been damaged.

In southern Kherson region, a 68-year-old man died and an 85-year-old man was wounded in a Russian drone attack this morning, regional administration head Oleksandr Prokudin says, external.

Ukraine’s state emergencies service DSNS says, external residential areas of Kherson region came under a "massive attack" overnight, and its efforts to put out the resulting fires were hampered by repeat strikes known as "double taps".

We've just seen pictures from the Russian Defence Ministry, which reportedly show their army in Malaya Loknya, a rural settlement in Kursk.

It's north of Sudzha, a key town in Kursk that Russia claims to have recaptured.

As we've been reporting, Russia says it's in the final stages of an operation to regain control of the Kursk region.

Image source, Russian Defence Ministry

Image source, Russian Defence Ministry

Image source, Russian Defence Ministry

Russia's military says it has recaptured Sudzha, a key town in the Kursk region that was previously taken by Ukrainian forces.

The BBC cannot independently verify this claim, and Ukraine has not yet commented.

As we've been reporting, Russia says it's in the final stages of an operation to regain control of Kursk. The map below shows what the region currently looks like.

For more on this, watch the clip from BBC Verify in our earlier post.

Russia may well be playing for timepublished at 09:56 GMT 13 March

09:56 GMT 13 March

James Landale
Diplomatic correspondent, reporting from Kyiv

One key phrase stood out in President Putin’s comments to his military commanders when he visited the Kursk region.

He said he wanted Ukrainian forces there defeated “in the shortest possible timeframe”.

For a leader who is always said to be believe he has time on his side, this was an intriguing remark.

It suggests President Putin wants to take the Ukrainian foothold in Russian territory off the diplomatic chessboard ahead of any negotiations.

Thus far neither he nor the Kremlin have expressed any opinion on the deal between Ukraine and the US to support an interim month-long ceasefire.

So Russia, as it has so often done before, may well be playing for time so it can seek to achieve a decisive military outcome in Kursk.

Vitaliy Shevchenko
Russia editor, BBC Monitoring

Here's another line from Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov.

He says all of Russia’s Kursk region will be retaken from Ukrainian forces “fairly soon”.

“The president has said that this needs to be done as soon as possible. It’ll take as much time as is necessary to preserve as many lives as possible of our troops and peaceful residents. But there is no doubt that Kursk region will be liberated fairly soon,” he tells a daily news briefing.

Vitaliy Shevchenko
Russia editor, BBC Monitoring

US envoy Steve Witkoff has arrived in Moscow, according to Russian news agency RIA Novosti, which has shared footage of the landing.

We'll bring you more information on this as we get it.