Catherine Evans
BBC News

Image source, Alamy

Four months after its invasion of Ukraine, Russia has "zero interest" in peace talks, according to academic Sergey Radchenko.

Any hopes for negotiations have so far been crushed for the moment, says the international relations professor at Johns Hopkins University.

The shock of isolation and sanctions from the West is beginning to wear off, he says, after Russia’s recovery from its initial failures to make incremental gains in the Donbas.

But with more weapons and ammunition coming from the US, could Ukraine push back?

“If the Ukrainians are able to have enough weapons to launch a counter-offensive... then they could potentially be in a position to roll back the Russians,” says Radchenko, who is researching the history of the war.

This could enable Ukraine to negotiate “from a position of strength,” he says.

But he doesn’t expect that to happen until later in the summer.

Image source, Reuters

Another line from French President Emmanuel Macron, who's been speaking alongside other EU leaders after talks with their Ukrainian counterpart, Volodymyr Zelensky.

He's quoted by Reuters speaking of the importance of keeping open a communication channel with Russia's President Putin, whose soldiers have invaded Ukraine.

As we've been reporting, Macron also says he and his counterparts back Ukraine for "immediate" candidate status to join the European Union. He'd previously said Ukraine's membership bid could take years if not decades.

Macron also says France is sending Ukraine six more long-range Caesar guns - on top of the 12 it's already committed.

Image source, AFP

Now on to Italy's Prime Minister Mario Draghi, who reaffirmed his support for Ukraine's hopes of joining the European Union.

He said Italy wants Ukraine to have EU candidate status and will support this position at next week's European Council meeting.

"The Ukrainian people defend every day the values of democracy and freedom that underpin the European project, our project," he adds. "We cannot delay this process."

Draghi adds Italy wants to see an end to the conflict but "any diplomatic solution cannot be separated from the will of Kyiv".

Image source, AFP

More now from a press conference involving the leaders of Ukraine and four European Union nations who've met today in Kyiv.

The host, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, says Russia's invasion amounts to aggression against all of Europe, according to quotes from the Reuters news agency.

Zelensky adds that the more weapons Ukraine gets from Western nations, the faster it will be able to liberate its occupied lands.

He says he talked about the prospect of further sanctions against Moscow with his visitors: the leaders of Germany, France, Italy and Romania.

More now from the German Chancellor.

Olaf Scholz says Germany has taken in 800,000 Ukrainian refugees.

At a news conference in Kyiv, he also says Germany is supporting Ukraine financially and militarily.

Image source, Reuters

German Chancellor Olaf Scholz says he came to Ukraine with a clear message: Ukraine belongs to the European family.

He adds Germany will support a positive decision on Ukraine and Moldova's EU membership accession.

Scholz also says Germany will continue to support Ukraine for as long as it needs it.

Image source, Reuters

We're starting to get some lines from a press conference involving the leaders of Ukraine, Germany, France, Italy and Romania - following their talks in Kyiv.

French President Emmanuel Macron says the visiting leaders are all supportive of Ukraine gaining "immediate" candidate status to join the European Union.

Macron has also promised that France will deliver six additional long-range Caesar guns to Ukraine as it tries to fight off the Russian invasion.

Hugo Bachega
Reporting from Dnipro

As we've heard, residents trying to leave the Russian-occupied city of Mariupol, in southern Ukraine, are being forced to go through a process called filtration, which involves harsh questioning and even strip searches. Many end up forcibly sent to Russia.

Yuriy Belousov, who leads the Department of War at the Ukrainian general prosecutor’s office, tells me his team has received allegations of torture and even killings during filtration.

“[It seems to be] a Russian policy which was designed in advance, and pretty well prepared,” he says. “It’s definitely not just a single case or [something] done by a local military guy.”

He acknowledges it’s difficult to verify the claims made by civilians, or estimate the scale of the violence. The Ukrainian authorities are unable to carry out investigations in occupied territories and most victims remain reluctant to share their stories, concerned that relatives in Mariupol could be targeted if their identity is exposed.

But several residents have shared with me their harrowing experiences while leaving the city. One of them is Maksym, a 48-year-old steelworker. He says he was beaten during an interrogation by Russian officers, which left him with four broken ribs.

Read more here.

Hugo Bachega
Reporting from Dnipro

Ukrainian officials say thousands of Mariupol residents have been forced to go through a process called filtration as they try to leave the city. It’s humiliating for most, and violent for some.

Civilians face harsh questioning, apparently in an attempt by the occupying forces to establish any possible links with the military, law enforcement and even local government. Men of fighting age are particularly targeted.

Andriy, a 28-year-old marketing officer, told me he was beaten by members of the Russian security service, the FSB, after they found a post he had shared on Instagram of a speech the Ukrainian president, Volodymyr Zelensky, gave at the start of the war.

At one point, after a blow to the stomach, he felt as if he was about to faint. He managed to sit on a chair.

“I wondered what would be better: to lose consciousness and fall down or tolerate the pain further.”

He was eventually freed, but forced to go with his family to Russia. “I even try to justify the process somehow. Try to convince myself there’s some logic. But there’s no logic.”

Russia’s defence ministry has not responded to requests for comment.

Read more here.

Jenny Hill
BBC News, Moscow

Gazprom blames repair work for cutting the supply of gas through the Nordstream 1 pipeline to Germany to 40% of its usual capacity.

Few here believe the Russian firm.

Least of all Robert Habeck, the economy and climate change minister. This was, he said, a political decision. One taken, presumably, to coincide with Chancellor Scholz’s visit to Ukraine. Gazprom announced on Tuesday that it would decrease the delivery, then announced a further reduction yesterday.

It’s a warning sign, said the president of the Federal Network Agency, which is responsible for Germany’s energy infrastructure. Klaus Mueller accused Russia of trying to spread insecurity and drive up the price of gas.

The government has urged people and businesses to save energy but says that there’s currently no shortage of supply. There’s little sense of panic here; it’s summer after all and most newspapers are busy reporting an impending heat wave this weekend.

Still, the federal network agency warns that, should the reduced gas supply continue, Germany will have a problem. Reservoirs need to be filled ahead of the winter.

And there’s no doubt that the move has alarmed Berlin. Germany remains heavily dependent on Russian gas and, while it’s assumed President Vladimir Putin won’t want to do without the revenue, Mr Mueller says the possibility of Russia halting supplies cannot be ruled out.

A meeting between the leaders of Ukraine, Germany, France, Italy and Romania has finished, says the head of the presidential office in Kyiv.

"Ukraine has a firm support of international coalition," Andriy Yermak wrote on the Telegram messaging app.

He added that President Zelensky gave his counterparts a "full package" of sanction proposals against Russia.

"We must increase the pressure on [the] aggressor, [and] work on the seventh sanction package with [a] gas embargo," Yermak wrote.

We're expecting a post-meeting press conference - stay with us for updates.

Gordon Corera
Security correspondent, BBC News

Dutch intelligence has revealed that a deep cover spy working for the Russian Military Intelligence Service, GRU, used a false Brazilian cover identity to travel from Brazil to the Netherlands.

The spy was supposed to start an internship with the International Criminal Court, which would mean he would have access to the ICC's building and systems.

He was detained on arrival in the Netherlands and sent back to Brazil on the next available flight.

The Dutch AIVD security service said in a statement: “If the intelligence officer had succeeded in commencing employment with the ICC, he would have been able to gather intelligence there and to look for (or recruit) sources, and arrange to have access to the ICC’s digital systems.

"That way, he would have been able to provide a significant contribution to the intelligence that the GRU is seeking. He might also have been able to influence criminal proceedings of the ICC."

The spy was an 'illegal’ - a particular type of deep cover spy that Russia specialises in. He pretended to be Brazilian citizen Viktor Muller Ferreira, born on 4 April 1989, when in fact his real name is Sergey Vladimirovich Cherkasov, born 11 September 1985.

The AIVD says Cherkasov used a well-constructed cover identity by which he concealed all his ties with Russia in general, and the GRU in particular.

The city of Irpin, like Bucha before it, has become a symbol for the "unimaginable cruelty" and "senseless violence" of the war in Ukraine, German Chancellor Olaf Scholz has said, while on a visit to the country.

"The brutal destruction in this city is a memorial - this war must end," Scholz said in a tweet., external

In Irpin, the bodies of 290 civilian victims have been found and witnesses and prosecutors tell of a month of terror in a narrow zone in the town's south-western quarter. A disproportionate number of victims were women.

Scholz, along with the French, Italian and Romanian leaders, are meeting with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky in a show of solidarity.

A Russian airstrike has hit a building that was sheltering civilians in Ukraine's eastern city of Lysychansk, killing at least three people and wounding at least seven, according to the local governor.

"We are pulling apart the rubble," Serhiy Haidai wrote on the Telegram messaging app.

Lysychansk has been bombarded in recent weeks and Russia's tactic is deliberate - shell, flatten, crush, and leave nothing but scorched earth.

The city sits on the other side of the Siverskyi Donets river from the city of Severodonetsk, which has seen brutal street fighting.

The BBC has not been able to independently verify the local governor's claims.

Image source, EPA

President Zelensky has been holding talks with European leaders this afternoon at the Presidential Palace in Kyiv.

German Chancellor Olaf Scholz, French President Emmanuel Macron and Italian Prime Minister Mario Draghi arrived in Kyiv this morning after taking a night train from Poland.

They have since been joined by Romanian President Klaus Iohannis.

Image source, EPA

Image source, EPA

Image source, EPA

Image source, EPA

Russia's efforts to destroy Ukraine will only lead to it becoming a stronger, more prosperous and united European nation, UK Foreign Secretary Liz Truss says.

Speaking in the House of Commons, she says the immediate priority is to help Ukraine win the war but work is also going on to rebuild the country as fast as possible.

Of the two British citizens sentenced to death [with Moroccan national Saaudun Brahim] for fighting Russian forces in Ukraine, Truss says: "We are in regular talks with the Ukrainian government. These people are prisoners of war. They were fighting legitimately with the Ukrainian army."

She says the free world is more united than at the beginning of the war but says unity must be maintained, adding "we must be relentless in delivering military aid at this critical time".

Asked what can be done to help ensure grain is exported from Ukrainian ports amid concerns about global hunger, Truss says the UK "is working with Ukrainians on shore-to-ship weapons to help protect the port" and working with the UN to try and secure access to the port. She says G7 and Nato allies will be critical to resolving the issue.

Nick Beake
Reporting from Kyiv

Image source, EPA

President Zelensky welcomed each of the visiting EU leaders at the entrance to the Presidential Palace in Kyiv.

The whole complex is sealed off, amid the sort of intense security you'd expect at the heart of power in a country under attack.

During the customary posing for the joint photograph, I shouted to Zelensky whether he thought his European allies would give him what really he wants today.

"We'll see," Zelensky replied.

But are you optimistic, I asked?

There was no clear answer as the leaders moved inside for their discussions.

Ukrainian officials were hoping privately the French and German leaders would give unequivocal support to Kyiv's EU membership ambitions, following somewhat conflicting messages from Emmanuel Macron and Olaf Scholz in recent weeks.

Moments earlier, the warmest embrace was between Zelensky and Macron.

Chancellor Scholz's arrival was more awkward as the German leader got out of his vehicle with a bulky briefcase which he proceeded to put down next to him on the red carpet.

It was quickly taken away and passed to a somewhat bemused official waiting in the wings.

Image source, Reuters

If you're just joining us, or could do with a refresher of what's been happening so far today in Ukraine, here are some of the day's key developments.

European leaders visit Kyiv

The French president, German chancellor and Italian prime minister have travelled to Ukraine, where they are meeting President Volodymyr Zelensky and hope to counter criticisms of their support for Ukraine and offer help to the country and its people.

Emmanuel Macron, Olaf Scholz and Mario Draghi travelled to Kyiv by train overnight, joined by Romanian President Klaus Iohannis, and have inspected war damage on a visit to the town of Irpin, which Russian troops occupied at the war's start.

Their visit has been met with scorn by Russia, with Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov saying he hoped it would not focus solely on supplying Ukraine with weapons as that would cause further damage to the country. Former Russian president Dmitry Medvedev says there is "zero use" in the leaders being there.

We're expecting to hear from the leaders in a news conference from Kyiv in the next hour or so - and we'll bring you updates on the key things they say right here.

The battle for Severodonetsk

About 10,000 civilians are trapped in the embattled eastern city, a regional governor says. Russian forces say they will reopen a humanitarian corridor for civilians to leave the city's Azot chemical plant but an evacuation was also planned yesterday and failed to materialise.

The destruction of all the main bridges into Severodonetsk has left Russian troops needing to find a way to get to the city - a key target for Moscow - "to turn tactical gain into operational advantage", the UK's Ministry of Defence says.

Image source, Reuters

There have been alarming warnings from Ukraine that the flow of weapons from Western countries is too little and too late.

As Russia continues to bombard the Donbas, pleas for more help are sounding more desperate by the day. Ukraine's deputy defence minister says that, so far, the country has only received 10% of what it has asked for.

EU leaders from France, Germany and Italy are in Kyiv today to meet with President Zelensky to give assurances that they will supply more weapons to Ukraine - after the countries received criticism for not doing enough in response to the war.

What weapons Ukraine is asking for:

Mykhailo Podolyak, an adviser President Zelensky, said that to end the war, Ukraine needed 1,000 calibre 155mm howitzers (long-range artillery launchers), 300 multiple-launch rocket systems, 500 tanks, 2,000 armoured vehicles and 1,000 drones.

Some weapons that Ukraine wants, like the Himars systems, require weeks of training before they can enter battle, according to top US defence officials who have defended the pace of arms deliveries.

Which countries have sent the most weapons:

The US announced it was sending the M142 High Mobility Artillery Rocket System (HIMARS), which fires precision-guided rockets that can hit targets up to 70km (45 miles) away - far further than the artillery Ukraine currently possesses.

The UK is sending M270 multiple-launch rocket systems with M31A1 precision munitions to Ukraine. The government says that Ukrainian troops will be trained how to use the weapons in the UK.

The UK has sent more than 5,000 next generation light anti-tank weapons, or Nlaw, to Ukraine, along with other vehicles, drones and missiles - spending £1.3bn ($1.6bn) on military support in total.

Germany has promised to send its most modern air defence system - the Iris-T - to enable Ukraine to shield an entire city from Russian air attacks - despite an international perception that Germany does not want to arm Ukraine.

Image source, .

Nick Beake
Reporting from Kyiv

Image source, EPA

After being taken to Irpin to witness for themselves some of the devastation inflicted by the Russian invasion, the leaders of the EU’s biggest three economies can’t be seen to demonstrate anything other than full public solidarity with their Ukrainian partners.

But behind closed doors, there could be tough discussions. One aide to President Zelensky told German media he fears today’s visiting trio will put pressure on Ukraine to make concessions to end the war Putin started.

Europe presented a united front in the early days of the invasion but recent disagreement on boycotting Russian gas during the latest round of EU energy sanctions reflect different perspectives and political and economic concerns in different EU capitals.

These extend to Ukraine's European Union membership bid, which Kyiv is desperate to achieve as soon as possible.

Some countries, including Poland, want a fast-tracked process but others worry there could be a temptation to lower all the normal accession hoops to jump through - such as reforms on finance, rule of law, corruption.

Key among the stated criteria for successful EU membership is having a "stable democracy".

Ukraine is in its fifth month under attack by a neighbour which wants to replace its leadership and take its territory.

So this could be a unique application in unique times. And, as ever in this union, France, Germany and Italy’s views will carry the most weight.