Image source, EPA

Following the US pause on intelligence sharing, an intense wave of Russian strikes have killed at least 25 people, according to various Ukrainian officials on Saturday.

The deadliest strikes occurred late on Friday in Dobropillya, Donetsk. Local officials say a Russian attack killed at least 11 people and wounded 40, including six children.

Following the strikes, Polish PM Donald Tusk said: "This is what happens when someone appeases barbarians."

Other attacks in the region killed nine people and wounded 13 on Friday and Saturday, local officials said.

Russian drones also struck a company in Kharkiv, killing three people, and hit civilian and energy infrastructure in Odesa, according to the regions' heads.

BBC Monitoring

Ukrainian military intelligence (HUR) attack drones have hit the Novokuybyshevsk oil refinery in Russia's Samara Region, according to a Ukrainian media outlet.

News website Ukrayinska Pravda reports that Samara residents reported loud explosions, adding that the nets built to protect the plant from drone attacks were not fully installed.

Andriy Kovalenko, from Ukraine's National Security and Defence Council (NSDC), wrote on Telegram that the plant's capacity totalled 8.8m tonnes of oil per year, "making it one of the 10 largest refineries in the Russian Federation".

The refinery produces petroleum products - including gasoline, diesel fuel and fuel oil - as well as transport and military equipment, Kovalenko adds.

Russian forces are reportedly trying to encircle thousands of Ukrainian soldiers in Russia's Kursk region, where they recaptured three settlements on Sunday.

Ukraine seized Kursk seven months ago, hoping to use it as leverage in peace talks.

It follows reports by Russian bloggers that Russian special forces had crept for miles through a gas pipeline near the town of Sudzha in an attempt to surprise Ukrainian forces.

A further thrust there, combined with recent advances in Ukraine's Sumy region in north-east Ukraine, could force Ukrainian troops to retreat or surrender in western Russia.

Ukraine says there have been more than a hundred and fifty clashes with Russian forces in the past day, with the heaviest fighting around the industrial city Pokrovsk, eastern Ukraine.

Big gap between ceasefire and a peace dealpublished at 11:18 Greenwich Mean Time

11:18 GMT

Frank Gardner
Security correspondent

Image source, EPA

There is much riding this week on the prospect of a ‘framework’ ceasefire deal being thrashed out in the Saudi port city of Jeddah between senior US and Ukrainian negotiators.

This is the relatively easy part. Ukraine has said it is ready for a ceasefire in the air and at sea, but it would expect Russia to do the same.

President Zelensky has had to backtrack on his recent comment that ending the war was a long way off after this infuriated President Trump. Instead, he is making all the right noises about wanting peace as Ukraine desperately needs Washington to restore its military and intelligence aid, seen as crucial to staving off further Russian advances.

But then comes the tricky part.

Russia and Ukraine are still very far apart on what they would accept in a final peace deal.

Moscow, as far as we know, has not significantly moderated its original demands since the start of the full-scale war. It expects Ukraine to permanently give up all of its four southern and eastern oblasts (provinces) that Russia has illegally annexed, including cities still in Ukrainian hands.

It expects a permanent veto on Ukraine ever joining Nato or the EU and it wants a pliant, pro-Moscow government in Kyiv. In other words: capitulation.

Image source, Reuters

We can bring you some more now from Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov who says it is "important to understand if Ukrainian authorities want peace or not".

Speaking at a briefing, which we have more on in our previous post, he also denies reports of US-Russian talks in Saudi Arabia this week.

As a reminder, US and Ukrainian officials are meeting in Saudi Arabia on Tuesday to discuss bringing an end to the Ukraine war.

Peskov says telephone communications between Trump and Putin are "not so often", adding that the pair have only had one call since Trump took office for his second term as US president on 20 January.

Vitaliy Shevchenko
Russia editor, BBC Monitoring

Image source, Reuters

Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov says that Russia and the US are “at an initial stage of restoring our bilateral relations”.

He told a daily news briefing: “It’s going to be a long and difficult path, but at least the two presidents have expressed political will to move in this direction.”

He also added that the Russian and US presidents only spoke once after Donald Trump assumed office for the second time.

According to the Kremlin spokesman, the conversations was “constructive enough to stay in touch and solve problems”.

Vitaliy Shevchenko
Russia editor, BBC Monitoring

The day before crucial talks with the US in Saudi Arabia, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky says yet again that he wants peace.

“Ukraine has been striving for peace since the first second of the war, and we’ve always said that the only reason why the war is still going on is Russia,” he says in a statement on social media, external.

President Zelensky has on numerous occasions been accused by US officials of not seeking peace, while Donald Trump says he believes that Vladimir Putin wants the war in Ukraine to end.

Volodymyr Zelensky will hold talks with Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman in Riyadh today. Tomorrow, Ukrainian officials, but not Zelensky, will meet US Secretary of State Marco Rubio and National Security Adviser Mike Waltz in Jeddah.

Image source, Reuters

We've just seen pictures of US Secretary of State Marco Rubio, who is on his way Saudi Arabia for discussions with Ukrainian officials.

A few hours ago, Rubio boarded a plane at the Homestead Air Reserve Base in Florida bound for Saudi Arabia, where we're expecting his arrival in the coming hours.

From the US, National Security Adviser Mike Waltz is also expected to join Rubio at the table.

Image source, Reuters

Russia has expelled one British diplomat at the embassy in Moscow and the spouse of another, on suspicion of spying.

Russia's Federal Security Service (FSB) says the two were stripped of their accreditation.

The FSB accuses them of falsifying information when they entered the country and carrying out intelligence and subversive activities.

The British Foreign Office says: "This is not the first time that Russia has made malicious and baseless accusations against our staff.”

Last month, the UK expelled a Russian diplomat- an action taken in response to Moscow's expulsion of a British diplomat in November 2024.

The Russian Foreign Ministry had said then that it intended to retaliate to the expulsion.

• For more on this story: Russia expels two more British diplomats

Image source, EPA

A senior Ukrainian politician is calling for Donald Trump and Volodymyr Zelensky to join the discussions set to take place in Saudi Arabia on Tuesday.

“I think the best solution is just to have a face-to-face talk between our president and Mr Trump,” Oleksandr Merezkho, chair of Ukraine’s foreign affairs committee, tells BBC Radio 4's Today programme.

“It will help to clear the air and to understand what's going on.”

Neither Trump nor Zelensky will formally take part in the negotiations which begin tomorrow.

While “sceptical” about the prospect of peace in the short term, Merezhko says this week’s talks are a positive step to getting the US back on side in the immediate war effort.

“Our goal at present is to mend relations, to improve relations with the United States, and to persuade our American allies to continue to supply us with weaponry and intelligence information,” he adds.

Image source, EPA

US Secretary of State Marco Rubio, who is expected to arrive in Saudi Arabia ahead of talks with Ukrainian officials on Tuesday, has long urged for a swift conclusion to the Ukraine war.

"We do want to see that conflict end, and it’s going to require some very difficult choices," Rubio said in November, after Trump's election victory.

In the past, Rubio called it "hyperbole" to believe that the "Ukrainians are going to completely crush the Russian military".

He voted against the $6bn military aid package for Ukraine last year.

"I think the Ukrainians have been incredibly brave and strong in standing up to Russia," he said.

"But at the end of the day, what we are funding here is a stalemate war, and it needs to be brought to a conclusion, or that country is going to be set back 100 years."

Image source, Reuters

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky will meet with Saudi's Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman in the coming hours.

On Tuesday, Ukrainian and US delegations - not including US President Donald Trump or his Ukrainian counterpart - will meet in Saudi Arabia to discuss bringing an end to the Ukraine war.

Here's what we know so far about those talks:

Key players: For Ukraine, Zelensky's chief of staff Andriy Yermak, Ukraine's national security adviser and foreign and defence ministers will be in attendance. For the US, Secretary of State Marco Rubio and National Security Adviser Mike Waltz will be at the table.

Making progress: US Middle East envoy Steve Witkoff says these meetings would "hopefully" get things "back on track". Zelensky says his team is attending "to work with our American partners".

Why Zelensky is in Saudi Arabia: Zelensky's meeting with the Saudi crown prince is pre-planned, originally scheduled for last month. He postponed it after US-Russia talks took place there in February, though Kyiv was not invited.

For context, Russia currently controls about 20% of Ukraine - take a look at the map below for the latest battle lines:

Adam Goldsmith
Live reporter

After Volodymyr Zelensky and Donald Trump clashed in the White House ten days ago, hopes for a peace deal that the US and Ukraine could agree on appeared to be in tatters.

This morning though, with relations slightly repaired, US officials will arrive in Saudi Arabia ahead of talks with their Ukrainian counterparts tomorrow.

Secretary of State Marc Rubio and National Security Adviser Mike Waltz are optimistic that a peace deal might be reached, as a US state official says Ukraine is "ready to move forward".

Ukraine's leader will take no formal part in these talks, though he is expected in Saudi Arabia today to meet Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman.

Difficult conversations still remain as the US continues to enforce a pause on sharing military aid and intelligence with Ukraine.

And, even if a deal is agreed, there remains the task of getting Vladimir Putin on board - Trump will be hoping his recent threat of further sanctions on Russia might do the trick.

As Zelensky, Rubio and Waltz touch down in Saudi Arabia, we'll keep you up to date with all the key news lines. Stay with us.