Doug Faulkner
Live reporter

Good morning, we’re restarting our live coverage as negotiators from the US are due to meet a Russian delegation in Saudi Arabia for talks aiming to end the Russia-Ukraine war.

Separate talks between the US and Ukraine took place in Riyadh last night, in what the Ukrainian delegation described as a “productive and focused” meeting.

The talks between Russia and the US are starting in about 15 minutes.

Meanwhile, Russia and Ukraine have continued to attack each other, with Ukraine’s Air Force saying it had shot down 57 of 99 drones launched overnight, while Russia reported 28 drones were intercepted in the other direction.

We'll bring you more on that - and the latest from Riyadh - throughout today, so stay with us.

Imogen James
Live reporter

As upcoming peace talks on the Ukraine war near, US envoy Steve Witkoff is hopeful meetings with both Ukraine and Russia will bring "real progress".

This evening, the Ukrainian delegation will speak with US officials in Saudi Arabia, though it's not clear whether the outcome of that discussion will be shared publicly just yet.

On Monday, another round of talks will take place, this time between the Russian delegation and US officials.

While talks continue, so does the war, follow the latest Russian strikes on Ukraine which killed three people, including a child, in Kyiv.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky says "new pressure" on Moscow is needed after the overnight attacks, which he called a "daily reality".

In Russia, Ukrainian strikes killed one person in a car fire, as the country's defence ministry says it shot down almost 60 drones overnight.

We're now pausing our live coverage, but we'll be back here tomorrow as Saudi Arabia hosts peace talks. For more on the Ukraine war, we have plenty of coverage across the BBC:

• Analysis: Why Trump is struggling to win fast ceasefire in Ukraine
• In Ukraine: Zelensky tells Russia to drop 'unnecessary' demands ahead of peace talks
• In Russia: Putin agrees in Trump call to pause Ukraine energy attacks but no full ceasefire - BBC News
• In the US: Trump envoy Steve Witkoff dismisses Starmer plan for Ukraine
• On the ground: Ukraine's 'chaotic' withdrawal from Russia, in its soldiers' words

Today, the US and Ukrainian delegations will meet in Saudi Arabia for talks about ending the war. Tomorrow, Russia will have its turn with the US.

Here are the key people involved:

Ukraine

• Rustem Umerov: Defence minister
• Pavlo Palisa: A presidential military adviser
• Andriy Yermak: Head of Zelensky's office
• Andrii Sybiha: Foreign minister

Russia

• Grigory Karasin: A career diplomat and chair of the international affairs committee in the upper house of parliament
• Sergei Beseda: An adviser to the head of the FSB spy agency

It's not yet been confirmed who the United States delegation will be, but a US official told Reuters that its delegation will include Andrew Peek, from the National Security Council, and Michael Anton, head of policy planning at the Department of State.

Sebastian Usher
Middle East analyst

Image source, Reuters

Saudi Arabia has been the US's choice of location for key talks on the war in Ukraine.

This underscores how far the Kingdom has come diplomatically from the near pariah state it became after the murder of the Saudi journalist Jamal Khashoggi in 2018.

The return of Donald Trump to the White House will have been welcomed by the Saudis.

His first foreign visit in his first term was to Saudi Arabia - and the transactional nature of his foreign policy is more conducive to the current Saudi leadership.

But the war in Gaza has subsequently got in the way and may well raise the price that Saudi Arabia will demand for a peace agreement.

The Saudis were very quick to announce their definitive rejection of Mr Trump's plan for Gaza - to remove all the Palestinians and rebuild it as a resort.

It has spurred the Kingdom to try to come up with a workable alternative plan with other Arab states - which would see Gazans remain in place as the enclave is rebuilt and would lead to a two state solution of the conflict.

What is clear is that the Saudis have no intention of reining in their ambition of becoming an essential player in global diplomacy.

• You can read more in the BBC's Middle East analyst Sebastian Usher's full piece

The Ukrainian Ground Forces say they have recaptured a village in the Luhansk region, in the east of the country.

In a post on Telegram, it says they took Nadiya in a 30-hour operation, and have reclaimed three square kilometres. It also shows a video of fighting, including tank warfare.

The footage has not yet been independently verified.

Very early on in the conflict, Russia had essentially taken the entire Luhansk region, a key strategic aim of President Putin's invasion of Ukraine.

It largely remains to be under Russian military control.

Chris Partridge
BBC News weapons analyst

As Russia continues its aerial bombardment of Ukraine with drones and missiles, Ukraine has been successfully targeting the sources of some of those attacks.

One of those was at Engels-2 Airbase, deep inside Russia and which is a key base for Moscow's strategic bombers and also serves as a refuelling point.

Engels-2, says Ukraine, also stores weapons including Kh-101 subsonic, air-launched cruise missiles, which, costing millions of dollars per missile, have been frequently used in overnight strikes.

A drone strike on Engels is reported to have destroyed ammunition storage facilities, with before-and-after images from Maxar satellite imagery detailing the extent of the operation.

Andriy Kovalenko, head of Ukraine Defence Council's Centre for Countering Disinformation, wrote on Telegram: "At Engels, the Russians lost missiles, including the Kh-101, as a result of the strike. The number will be clear later. This airfield stores the largest number of missiles used by strategic aviation to strike Ukraine."

While Russia's military operation is defined by the sheer size of attacks, Ukraine's much more limited resources are having to be focused on pinpoint hits on key military installations.

Russia will try to continue its overnight raids to overwhelm air defences and the electronic warfare systems Kyiv uses to try to defeat the drones that pour in.

Image source, Getty Images

Earlier, we heard US envoy Steve Witkoff say that he is hopeful for "real progress" in Ukraine peace talks over the next two days.

The US has taken a leading role in negotiations to end the war in Ukraine.

But the UK and EU have been working on plans for what peace could look like, including putting peacekeeping troops on the ground in Ukraine.

US envoy Steve Wtikoff dismissed this plan as "a posture and pose" in an interview with pro-Trump journalist Tucker Carlson.

Witkoff said the idea was based on a "simplistic" notion from the UK prime minister and other European leaders.

"Russians are going to march across Europe. That is preposterous by the way. We have something called Nato that we did not have in World War Two."

• BBC'S Diplomatic correspondent James Landale has more on this story

Image source, Getty Images

UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer and Prime Minister Dick Schoof of the Netherlands spoke today about Ukraine, Downing Street says.

The pair agreed that "continued political momentum and action driven by the members of the Coalition of the Willing, is vital to put Ukraine in the strongest possible position for a secure and lasting peace," a statement from No 10 says.

They also agreed that much closer cooperation in Europe on defence capabilities will be "vitally important" in the coming decades in order to protect Europe and secure its future, the statement adds.

Image source, Getty Images

Speaking on Air Force One on Saturday night, US President Donald Trump told sports journalist Clay Travis, external that there's nobody in the world that can stop Putin "except me".

In the interview, he says: "I think I'm going to be able to stop him."

"We've had some very rational discussions, and I just want to see the people stop getting killed," Trump adds.

Image source, Reuters

US envoy Steve Witkoff says that the United States is expecting to see "real progress" at the next round of peace talks, beginning with Ukraine today in Saudi Arabia.

In an interview with Fox News on Sunday, Witkoff says "our job is to narrow the issues, bring the parties together and stop the killing".

He says progress is expected on issues like the Black Sea and shipping. "And from that, you'll naturally gravitate into a full on shooting ceasefire."

Witkoff thinks Russian President Vladimir Putin "wants peace" and says lots of progress has already been made in calls between Trump and his Russian counterpart over the past week.

Last night, Witkoff praised Putin and told journalist Tucker Carlson that he "liked" the leader.

Saudi Arabia will host more peace talks on Sunday and Monday this week, with delegations from Ukraine, Russia and the US all expected to attend - though not all at the same time.

Ukraine's team will first meet the US delegation on Sunday evening, a member of the Ukrainian delegation told AFP.

The US team will then meet their Russian counterparts in Saudi Arabia on Monday.

Kyiv says it wants an end to strikes on its energy infrastructure, and to retain control of its land. Moscow is calling for an end of military aid and intelligence sharing in Ukraine.

Image source, Getty Images

Following the deadly strikes in Kyiv, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky says that "new decisions and new pressure on Moscow are needed to bring an end to these strikes and this war".

The Ukrainian president adds "these attacks are a daily reality".

He calls for "more effective" sanctions against Russia as the weapons used against his country use foreign parts.

"Every loophole that allows them to bypass the sanctions regime must be eliminated."

Image source, PA-EFE/REX/Shutterstock

Vladimir Putin's spokesperson has described a phone call this week between the Russian president and his US counterpart Donald Trump as "constructive" and "very respectful".

Dmitry Peskov told Russian state media that the call was another step towards organising a face-to-face meeting between the two leaders.

"Such a meeting must be adequately prepared. First, difficult technical talks must be held. And just on Monday, our negotiators will go to Riyadh to start this complex process," Peskov adds.

Trump earlier said his call with Putin was "a very good and productive one", with an agreement reached on "an immediate ceasefire on all energy and infrastructure".

The Russian Defence Ministry says it shot down 59 Ukrainian drones overnight.

It says these were across a number of regions in the south of the country, and in Crimea, a peninsula illegally annexed by Russia in 2014.

Image source, Reuters

A Kyiv resident tells Reuters they want a ceasefire agreement because there is "constant stress" from "being under attack all the time".

Mykhailo Krytsiuk adds that the quality of life has deteriorated too, and a ceasefire would help economically.

"If the war freezes, then there is a hope that it will bring at least some comfort," he says.

"But I do not believe in a full ceasefire, I do not believe in total safety because we have seen how our bad neighbour (Russia) behaves," he says.

It's a sentiment echoed by another local, Serhiy Kolomiiets, who says talks continue between officials "while ordinary people... ordinary children will be suffering."

In the aftermath of drone strikes on Ukraine overnight, which killed three people in Kyiv, debris from damaged buildings has piled up.

President Zelensky says a father and his five-year-old daughter were among the casualties.

Drone debris hit an apartment block, which caused fires in the residences.

The Ukrainian Air Force says it shot down 97 of 147 drones, with 25 others being successfully diverted.

Image source, Getty Images

Image source, Getty Images

Image source, EPA

Imogen James
Live reporter

Image source, Getty Images

Russian strikes on Ukraine overnight have killed three people in Kyiv and left several injured, local officials say. One witness has said "everyone started screaming and running" as debris hit an apartment block.

Ukraine's air force says it has shot down 97 of 147 drones launched into the country.

Meanwhile, Russia's defence ministry says it shot down almost 60 Ukrainian drones and say one person was killed after a car caught fire following strikes.

Following the attacks in his nation's capital, Ukrainian President Zelensky has called for fresh pressure on Russia.

It comes as the Kremlin says they are a step closer to a face-face meeting between Trump and Putin - but a spokesperson says "difficult" technical talks need to be had before this can progress.

US and Ukraine delegations will meet in Saudi Arabia on Sunday, as Washington seeks to negotiate to a potential end to the conflict. On Monday, the US is expected to meet with Russian counterparts.

Putin has rejected a joint US-Ukrainian call for a full and immediate 30-day pause, proposing instead to halt attacks only on energy facilities.

Our team of writers and correspondents will bring you the latest updates and analysis on the war in Ukraine, stay with us.