Vitaliy Shevchenko
Russia editor, BBC Monitoring

Multiple Russian sources say General Yaroslav Moskalik, deputy head of the main operational department at the Russian General Staff, has been killed in a car bomb attack in Moscow.

No official confirmation yet.

Russian official news agency Tass quotes security services as confirming that a bomb was the cause of the explosion in Moscow’s eastern suburb of Balashikha.

Moskalik was senior enough to represent Russia’s General Staff in talks with Ukraine in Paris in 2015.

Image source, Reuters

A convoy believed to be carrying special envoy Steve Witkoff has just been spotted driving along the highway leading to Moscow.

We'll bring you the latest about Witkoff's expected meeting with Vladimir Putin as we learn more.

Image source, Getty Images

As we've mentioned earlier, US envoy Steve Witkoff is expected to meet Russia's president today. It will be the fourth such meeting between the pair this year.

Each meeting has taken place in Russia, behind closed doors and without media present:

• 11 February: Witkoff flew unannounced to Moscow to meet Putin over the release of imprisoned American teacher Marc Fogel. Ukraine was not reported to be a topic of discussion, and Witkoff returned with Fogel to the US the following day
• 13 March: Following US and Ukrainian talks in Jeddah to adopt a 30-day ceasefire, Witkoff travelled to Moscow to present the proposal to Putin. "The meeting was extremely productive," said the head of Russia's sovereign wealth fund, Kirill Dmitriev
• 11 April:Witkoff and Putin spoke for close to five hours in the western Russian city of St Petersburg. Kremlin aide Yuri Ushakov was also in the room, according to the Kremlin.

Trump says there has been significant progress in peace talks, and that the coming days will be important. "I think we're getting very close," he noted yesterday.

Steve Rosenberg
Russia editor

Image source, Reuters

Speaking about a potential peace deal, Russia's foreign minister told the BBC's American news partner CBS News that there are "elements… which need to be fine-tuned".

Will the "fine-tuning" be done by Steve Witkoff?

President Trump's special envoy has reportedly arrived in Moscow for more talks with the Kremlin.

Witkoff is no traditional diplomat. He is a billionaire New York real estate developer. But he is highly trusted by Donald Trump.

He is also the man who has had more eye-to-eye contact with Vladimir Putin than any other American in the last couple of months. This will be their fourth meeting.

He comes across as someone well-disposed to Russia and has embraced Kremlin narratives on Russia's war in Ukraine.

Will he use these talks with President Putin to try to elicit concessions from the Kremlin that may be acceptable to Kyiv (there have been few signs of concessions so far from Moscow) in order to get a deal over the line?

President Trump claims that his administration is "putting a lot of pressure on Russia". There's been no obvious sign of that so far.

Image source, EPA-EFE/REX/Shutterstock

Today's developments come after a week of mixed messages from the main players in the Ukraine war.

On Monday, Vladimir Putin signalled he was open to talks with Ukrainian leader Volodymyr Zelensky for the first time since the early stages of the war.

Speaking to Russian state TV, Putin said Russia had "always looked positively on any peace initiatives. We hope that representatives of the Kyiv regime will feel the same way".

However, Russian attacks on Ukrainian cities continued unabated throughout the week with a wave of strikes across the country killing more than a dozen people and leaving many more injured.

President Zelensky described the wave of attacks as "deliberate Russian terror" which could be "stopped by a single order".

Speaking in South Africa on Thursday Zelensky added: "I don't see any strong pressure on Russia or any new sanctions packages against Russia's aggression."

There have been no direct talks between Russia and Ukraine since the initial weeks after Moscow launched its full-scale invasion in February 2022.

Read more about the stumbling blocks to peace here.

As we wait for more information on Witkoff's visit to Moscow, we can bring you more on those comments from Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov that we posted about earlier.

Lavrov has been speaking to CBS's Margaret Brennan on the Face the Nation programme, where he says the Kremlin is "ready to reach a deal" with the US on Ukraine.

He is also challenged about this week's missile strikes on Kyiv which left 12 dead.

Lavrov insists Russia "only target military goals or civilian sites used by the military".

US special envoy Steve Witkoff's plane has landed at Vnukovo International Airport in Moscow after travelling from Florida, two Russian news agencies are reporting.

Witkoff is expected to meet Russian President Vladimir Putin today to continue talks on a Russia-Ukraine peace deal.

Details of the meeting have yet to be confirmed by either the White House or the Kremlin.

Image source, Getty Images

As we've been reporting, Trump's special envoy Steve Witkoff is expected to meet with Putin today.

The prospective meeting comes after the US president criticised both Ukraine and Russia. Here's a quick look at what he has said:

• On Wednesday, Trump said Zelensky's refusal to consider recognising Crimea as Russian territory was "very harmful" to peace talks
• In a post on Truth Social, he added that Zelensky's statement would "do nothing but prolong the 'killing field,' and nobody wants that! We are very close to a Deal, but the man with 'no cards to play' should now, finally, GET IT DONE"
• Yesterday, Trump turned his attention to Putin. He said: "Vladimir, STOP! 5000 soldiers a week are dying. Lets get the Peace Deal DONE!"

Image source, Getty Images

When Trump wanted someone to meet Russian President Vladimir Putin in February to open negotiations for a potential deal to end the Russia-Ukraine war, he didn't dispatch his secretary of state.

The man he sent to the Kremlin to handle a titanic geopolitical challenge does not even have a diplomatic background.

Steve Witkoff was one of Trump's first picks for his top team after his presidential election win in November. Trump wrote: "Steve will be an unrelenting voice for PEACE, and make us all proud."

As a long-time Republican donor, he has known Trump for decades, and, like the president, made his fortune in real estate in both New York and Florida.

Witkoff's deal-making skills were on display during Trump's 2024 campaign, when he helped ease tension between Trump and his defeated Republican presidential primary rival, Florida Governor Ron DeSantis.

He currently serves as chairman of the University of Miami's business school real estate advisory board, and was appointed by Trump during his first term to the board of trustees of the John F Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts.

A plane that took off from Florida has entered Russian airspace, multiple local state-run agencies report citing public flight data.

The Bombardier Global 7500 aircraft crossed over the Russian border at 09:40 local time (07:40 BST).

It comes as US envoy Steve Witkoff is expected to meet Putin today to continue talks on a Russia-Ukraine peace deal.

Image source, CBS

As we continue to report on attacks on Ukraine, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov says Russia is "ready to reach a deal" with the US to end the war, although some elements need to be "fine tuned".

Speaking to BBC's US partner CBS News, Lavrov adds: "The president of the United States believes, and I think rightly so, that we are moving in the right direction."

Asked what made it worth killing civilians after Ukraine had said in March that it's ready for a ceasefire, Lavrov says "we only target military goals or civilian sites used by the military".

Vitaliy Shevchenko
Russia editor, BBC Monitoring

Image source, UKRAINIAN STATE EMERGENCY SERVICE / HANDOUT

Three people including a child and a 76-year-old woman have been killed in a Russian drone attack on the town of Pavlohrad, Dnipropetrovsk region.

Regional governor Serhiy Lysak says 10 people were injured and shares pictures from the scene suggesting a residential apartment block was hit.

Ukraine's air force says Russia launched 103 drones in overnight attacks, which killed three people.

The fatalities were reported in Pavlohrad, in Ukraine's eastern Dnipropetrovsk region.

Posting on Telegram, regional governor Serhiy Lysak says: "The aggressor again massively attacked the region with drones... several fires also broke out in Pavlohrad."

Ukraine's north-eastern city of Kharkiv also came under attack with its mayor, Ihor Terekhov, saying several private buildings were damaged.

Russia fired no missiles at Ukraine overnight, Ukraine’s air force adds.

Image source, Reuters

White House envoy Steve Witkoff is expected to hold talks with Vladimir Putin in Moscow later today to discuss a possible peace agreement between Russia and Ukraine.

Witkoff, a former real estate developer, has already met Putin three times over the last two months.

Earlier this month, Donald Trump's special envoy suggested a potential peace deal hinged on the status of five Ukrainian regions.

Witkoff appeared to be referring to Crimea and the Donetsk, Luhansk, Zaporizhzhia and Kherson regions in eastern Ukraine, much of which are under Russian military occupation after Putin launched a full-scale invasion in 2022 with the aim of taking control of the whole country.

Image source, EPA-EFE/REX/Shutterstock

The Prime Minister, Sir Keir Starmer, says it's up to Ukraine to decide the terms of any peace deal with Russia.

It comes after US President Donald Trump accused the Ukrainian president, Volodymyr Zelensky, of harming peace negotiations by ruling out recognising Russian control of Crimea.

Speaking to the Daily Telegraph, Starmer says: "It's Ukraine that must decide on those issues, it's not for other people to decide on behalf of Ukraine."

The PM also describes Zelensky as courageous and says he was not to blame for being unable to find a solution to end the war.

Image source, Getty Images

The mayor of Ukraine's capital Kyiv says the country might have to give up some of its territory, albeit temporarily, in order to secure a peace agreement with Moscow.

It's the first time a senior Ukrainian official has seriously broached the idea after President Volodymyr Zelensky's repeated dismissals.

"One of the scenarios is to give up territory," he tells BBC Radio 4's Anna Foster. "It's not fair. But for the peace, temporary peace, maybe it can be a solution."

Ukraine finds itself under extraordinary pressure from the US and the Kremlin to accept concessions of land and rights to mine its vast mineral deposits.

This week, US Vice-President JD Vance added to that pressure, saying that a peace deal would need to "freeze" territorial lines "close to where they are today".

But Klitschko admits he doesn't have a seat at the table that would make such a decision.

"It's not my function," he says. "It's the function of President Zelensky."

The Kyiv mayor and Zelensky are political opponents. The mayor has repeatedly accused the president and his team of trying to undermine his authority.

Image source, EPA

Good morning and thank you for joining us as we resume our Ukraine coverage.

Yesterday, in a rare criticism of Vladimir Putin, US President Donald Trump said he was "not happy" with deadly Russian strikes on Kyiv that left 12 dead on Thursday - but he didn't say if further action might be taken against Russia.

However, efforts to achieve a truce continue, with Trump's envoy, Steve Witkoff, expected to hold talks with Putin later today.

On the Ukrainian side, concessions are being considered by high-profile politicians.

The mayor of Kyiv, Vitali Klitschko, tells the BBC his country may have to give away territory as part of any peace deal with Russia. He says such a settlement would be unfair, but could be a temporary solution to end the fighting.

Here in the UK, the Prime Minister, Sir Keir Starmer, says it's not for him to say if he would accept a peace deal that defined Crimea as part of Russia.

Stay with us as we follow the day's events.

Image source, Reuters

Overnight in Ukraine's capital, Kyiv, Russian strikes killed at least 12 people and left dozens injured, in the deadliest attack on the capital since last July.

The strikes came hours after US President Trump accused Ukrainian President Zelensky of harming the negotiations and "prolonging the killing field".

In Ukraine, the strikes left parts of Kyiv flattened - we heard from one resident, Tanya, who says: "Kyiv keeps on living, attacks like these make people stronger."

Zelensky made a plea for more pressure to be placed on Russia and said "Putin has no fear".

As the day progressed, world leaders reacted to the attacks. Trump wrote on Truth Social: "I am not happy with the Russian strikes on KYIV. Not necessary, and very bad timing. Vladimir, STOP!"

Later on, Trump said the he has his "own deadline" for peace talks, adding that the US is putting a lot of pressure on Russia and Ukraine, but he refused to give specifics.

We're now pausing our live coverage, for more on this story:

• Trump says he is 'not happy' with deadly Russian strikes on Kyiv
• Why Zelensky can't and won't give up Crimea
• US intensifying bid to end Ukraine war - but chances of success remain unclear

Image source, EPA

Ukrainian Finance Minister Serhii Marchenko says Kyiv and Washington have made progress on the long-awaited minerals deal, but it will not be finalised this week.

The proposal is thought to be a co-owned cash pot which would receive 50% of the profits from Ukraine's critical minerals, as well as oil and gas. The money would then be invested in the country's recovery.

The latest memo on the deal says US and Ukraine "intend to establish a reconstruction investment fund as part of an economic partnership between the two peoples and governments".

It does not include the promise of a security guarantee from the US, something Zelensky has pushed hard for throughout negotiations

It's almost two months since President Zelensky first travelled to the US to finalise this deal.

• Read more on the ins and outs of the mineral deal

Image source, Reuters

Nato Secretary General Mark Rutte says the ball is "clearly" in Russia's court, after meeting President Trump at the White House.

"There is something on the table now, I think, where the Ukrainians are really playing ball," Rutte tells reporters.

"And I think the balls are clearly in the Russian court now, he adds.

Before Russia launched its overnight attacks, US President Donald Trump accused Volodymyr Zelensky of harming peace negotiations.