Vitaliy Shevchenko
Russia editor, BBC Monitoring

Image source, Getty Images

Official news agency Tass is quoting Russian foreign minister Sergei Lavrov as saying:

• An EU military contingent in Ukraine will mean "direct war" by European countries against Russia
• Russia will see the presence of an EU peacekeeping force in Russia the same as a Nato presence
• Macron’s nuclear rhetoric is a threat against Russia
• Macron is aggressively continuing Napoleon’s cause, masking his true intentions

As a reminder, France's President Macron says European troops could "perhaps" be deployed to Ukraine after a peace deal - while the UK's Prime Minister Keir Starmer says he's willing to put "boots on the ground" after a ceasefire

Vitaliy Shevchenko
Russia editor, BBC Monitoring

Image source, Getty Images

Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov has just criticised French President Emmanuel Macron for the remarks he made yesterday.

In his speech, Macron warned Europe "can no longer believe the words" of Russia's leaders, saying they violated previous ceasefires. He added that the "deployment of European forces" to Ukraine could be included among potential security guarantees to protect a peace deal.

“The address is extremely confrontational. It can hardly be seen as the address of a head of state who is thinking about peace," says Peskov.

"Based on what was said, it can rather be concluded that France is thinking about war more, about continuing the war. With all respect to [Macron], it can be said that it contained numerous inaccuracies, diplomatically speaking," he adds.

Paul Adams
Diplomatic correspondent

Image source, Getty Images

The precise significance of US intelligence to Ukraine's war effort has, for obvious reasons, never been spelled out in detail.

But any prolonged interruption in the supply of US intelligence could have a catastrophic impact on Ukraine’s ability to defend itself, particularly as the Trump administration has already decided to suspend vital military assistance.

Most analysts agree that it performs two important functions: helping Ukraine to plan offensive operations against Russian forces, and giving Kyiv vital advance warning of threats posed by incoming Russian drones and missiles.

Satellite information and signal intercepts give Ukrainian forces on the frontline a sense of where Russian forces are, their movements and likely intentions.

Without US intelligence, Ukraine will not be able to make such effective use of long-range Western weaponry, like the US-made Himars launchers or Stormshadow missiles supplied by Britain and France.

• Continue reading about how pausing US intelligence impacts Ukraine's military operation

Second time Kryvyi Rih hotel struck in five monthspublished at 09:49 Greenwich Mean Time

09:49 GMT

By Benedict Garman and Richard Irvine-Brown

As soon as reports emerged of a strike on a hotel in Kryvyi Rih, home city of President Volodymyr Zelensky, BBC Verify began analysing imagery from the scene.

The target of the strike - the Central Hotel, a 54-room, five-storey hotel - was determined by matching the distinctive building facade to photos of the hotel on Google Maps.

As well as verified imagery showing direct damage to the building in the aftermath of the strike - much of it provided by the emergency services themselves - we've also verified video showing a fiery explosion at the moment of impact, filmed at a spot 300m away to the north.

It's not the first time the hotel has been the target of Russian strikes. On 20 October last year, video emerged showing a huge crater just in front of the building, and damage to neighbouring buildings.

Image source, Central Hotel Facebook page

Image source, Social media

Image source, Serhiy Lysak / Dnipropetrovsk Regional State Administration

At least eight people have been killed in a series of overnight Russian attacks across Ukraine. Here's what we know so far:

• Four people were killed after a Russian missile struck a hotel in Kryvyi Rih, President Zelensky's home town in central Ukraine. Zelensky says US and British aid volunteers had checked in shortly before the strike, adding they had managed to escape
• Civilian and engineering infrastructure in the southern port city of Odesa was "massively attacked" and two people were injured, according to the region's governor
• One civilian was killed and three more people injured the Donetsk region, according to Ukrainian officials
• In Ukraine's north-eastern city of Sumy, another civilian died after a Russian strike
• The governor of Kharkiv says Russian shelling set fire to a house and a car, killing a man
• Meanwhile, in Kherson, one person has died in the past 24 hours following a Russian attack

Altogether, the Ukraine Air Force say they shot down 68 of 112 Russian night-time drone attacks.

Vitaliy Shevchenko
Russia editor, BBC Monitoring

Image source, Reuters

In a further sign of improving relations with Washington, Vladimir Putin has appointed Alexander Darchiev as Russia’s ambassador to the US.

The post had been vacant since October 2024, when long-time Russian ambassador Anatoly Antonov returned to Moscow.

Restoring diplomatic relations was the subject of recent US-Russian talks in Riyadh and then Istanbul.

• Darchiev previously served as Russia's ambassador to Canada

Image source, Reuters

We are now seeing key European leaders arriving to a packed entrance room for the EU emergency summit in Brussels.

There's media everywhere, as officials walk down the line to speak.

Briefly addressing the press, European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen says leaders are meeting today to "rearm Europe" and help defend Ukraine.

Image source, State Emergency Service Of Ukraine

So far today, we've reported on a Russian missile strike in President Zelensky's home town of Kryvyi Rih that killed four people.

Other areas of the country have also been targeted by Russian attacks, with one civilian killed and three more people injured in Novoolenivka, in the Donetsk region, according to the regional administration head.

And in Ukraine's north-eastern city of Sumy, another civilian died after Russian troops struck a "civilian infrastructure facility", the State Emergency Service of Ukraine says.

After the United States yesterday announced it was pausing the sharing of intelligence with Ukraine, France has now stepped in to assist Kyiv.

Speaking this morning, France's Defence Minister Sébastien Lecornu told French public radio station France Inter that they were passing their intelligence onto the Ukrainians.

Image source, Getty Images

On Monday, Donald Trump announced that Washington had paused shipments of military equipment to Ukraine following a heated meeting with its president, Volodymyr Zelensky, just days before.

Washington then announced on Wednesday that it had paused intelligence sharing with Ukraine.

Kyiv has relied heavily on US military aid since Russia launched its full-scale invasion in 2022, and there are fears the country's defences may be able to hold out for only a matter of months without Washington's support.

EU chief Ursula von der Leyen said Europe was ready to "step up" on defence while France's President Emmanuel Macron issued a stark warning that the continent was at a "turning point of history".

Image source, Getty Images

Ukrainian opposition MP Oleksiy Goncharenko says "we have a big problem now" that US President Donald Trump has stopped sharing intelligence and military aid with Ukraine.

"It's very, very dangerous. Tens of thousands of people are under threat because of this," he tells the BBC's Newsday programme.

"We need to be clear with President Trump about our intentions," to make a deal within Ukraine's terms, Goncharenko says.

At the EU summit today, the MP wants to see "concrete steps", but the problem is "you can't destroy a Russian missile with a statement".

We've just seen an update from Ukraine's Armed Forces, who report 112 Russian drones and two missiles were launched overnight.

Sixty-eight of these drones were shot down by Ukraine's Air Force, whilst 43 of them were lost "without negative consequences".

The two missiles were fired from two different locations – Voronezh region and occupied Crimea.

Some drones were shot down in Odesa, a region which was "massively attacked" by overnight Russian strikes according to the region's governor.

Image source, State Emergency Service Of Ukraine

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky says US and British volunteers from a humanitarian organisation were among those at a hotel in Kryvyi Rih struck in a missile attack last night.

Writing in Ukrainian on his Telegram channel, Zelensky says the rescue operation in Kryvyi Rih "lasted all night".

"Ballistic missiles hit an ordinary hotel. Just before the strike, volunteers from a humanitarian organisation - citizens of Ukraine, the United States, and Britain - checked into the hotel," he says.

"They survived because they managed to get down from their rooms. But, unfortunately, four people were killed in the attack."

He adds: "In total, more than 30 people were wounded, all of them were provided with the necessary assistance. The strike damaged many civilian objects around the hotel. Rescuers are still working at the scene - all services.

"There can be no pause in the pressure on Russia to stop this war and terror against life."

• In a later, English-language version of the same message, Zelensky says a "missile" hit the hotel - rather than missiles.

We've been reporting on a Russian missile attack in Zelensky's home town - but this was not the only Ukrainian city targeted overnight.

Over 190 miles away, the Ukrainian southern port city of Odesa was also "massively attacked", according to the region's governor.

Oleh Kiper says Russian drones targeted civilian and energy infrastructure, injuring two people and destroying a two-storey home.

Image source, Reuters

Image source, State Emergency Service of Ukraine

A fourth person has died after a Russian missile strike in Kryvyi Rih overnight, according to the city's regional administration chief.

The missile hit a hotel in the central city, also causing damage to a number of apartment blocks and shops.

Daniel Wittenberg
Reporting from Brussels

Image source, Reuters

It has been a bruising, emotional, and relentless seven days for Ukraine’s under-pressure wartime leader.

This time last week, Volodymyr Zelensky was on his way to Washington DC, expecting to sign a landmark minerals deal with the United States and hoping to persuade Donald Trump to back Ukraine with security guarantees.

Instead, the meeting erupted into a full-blown confrontation.

I was inside the Oval Office as tensions boiled over – Zelensky looked frustrated, perhaps a little tired, as he clashed with an angry Trump and Vice-President JD Vance in a showdown that sent diplomatic shockwaves.

Since then, Zelensky and his advisers have been in overdrive.

Their next stop – London – was brought forward. He was welcomed with literal open arms by Keir Starmer on Downing Street and headed for a fireside audience with the King at his Sandringham home, as well as attending a planned summit of European leaders.

Back in Kyiv, Zelensky hit the phones, making more than a dozen calls to world leaders. But not to Trump.

Instead, Zelensky penned a letter to the US president, stressing Ukraine’s willingness to negotiate for peace, while posting on social media that their White House clash was “regrettable”.

Then it was back on the move: an overnight train out of Ukraine and a flight to Brussels, where we’re reporting from today, as he joins EU talks on ramping up defence.

Plenty of airmiles, countless conversations – but a long way still to go before peace.

Image source, EPA

EU leaders are meeting in Brussels today for a special council on defence following a warning from French President Emmanuel Macron that the continent is at a "turning point of history".

This is the latest in a series of meetings focussing on security on the continent, as well as on how to further support Ukraine. Most recently, leaders gathered in London for a summit hosted by UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer.

As well as rearmament, the leaders are expected to discuss how the EU can further support Kyiv after US President Donald Trump announced on Monday that he would suspend aid to Ukraine, and Washington confirmed its decision to pause intelligence sharing with the country.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky is due to attend the talks.

European Commission chief Ursula von der Leyen announced an unprecedented defence package on Monday, saying Europe was ready to "massively" boost its defence spending "with the speed and the ambition that is needed".

Europe was facing a "clear and present danger on a scale that none of us have seen in our adult lifetime", she said.

Image source, State Emergency Service Of Ukraine

At least three people have been killed and 31 injured by a Russian missile in Kryvyi Rih, says the head of the Dnipropetrovsk region administration.

Serhiy Lysak says the missile hit a hotel in Ukraine's central city - the home town of Ukraine President Volodomyr Zelensky - also damaging 13 apartment blocks and 12 shops.

Yuriy Sak, an adviser to Ukraine's Ministry of Strategic Industries, describes it as an attack on "a civilian, peaceful hotel".

Imogen James
Live reporter

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky heads to Brussels today to join an emergency EU security summit with leaders from across the continent.

It comes as his home town Kryvyi Rih deals with the damage from an overnight Russian missile strike that killed three and wounded 31.

Yesterday, the US confirmed it had paused intelligence sharing with Ukraine, adding to the suspension of military aid to the country.

We're waiting to hear from President Donald Trump, who has been quiet on the topic since his address to Congress on Tuesday night, where he welcomed a letter sent by Zelensky which said he was prepared to work with America for a peace deal.

The relationship might be thawing as Zelensky, in a video update shared on X on Wednesday evening, said the two countries had been speaking, and there is "positive movement" on a meeting next week.

The UK is pushing on its diplomatic efforts with the US too - with Defence Secretary John Healey set to meet his US counterpart Pete Hegseth later today in Washington DC.

We'll bring you the key movements today on the war in Ukraine, with the summit kicking off in just a few hours.

James Waterhouse
Ukraine correspondent in Kyiv

US intelligence sharing is central to Ukraine's survival.

In the early battle of Kyiv it was shared intelligence from the US which allowed Ukraine to repel Russian forces in a way few predicted.

It's American information that helps alert mobile phones if there is an air strike – a nightly occurrence.

It also allows Ukrainian troops to identify the locations of invading Russian soldiers and launch long-range missile strikes.

The scope of this US pause is not yet clear.

But this is a White House approach which is less an unpopular measure to force Ukraine to negotiate, and more a reckless gamble with its future.

The question now is – where will Donald Trump stop?

We have now paused our live coverage, thanks for joining us.