What’s been happening?published at 09:05 Greenwich Mean Time
Image source, Reuters
President Putin pictured visiting his forces in the Kursk region last week. Russia has been steadily retaking territory in the area after Ukraine captured land there last year
If you’re just joining us, or are in need of a quick summary, here’s the latest:
- US President Donald Trump says he plans to discuss “power plants” and “land” with his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin on Tuesday when they hold talks on ended the war in Ukraine
- Russia and Ukraine launched overnight drone attacks on each other, officials from the two countries have said
- The Ukrainian Air Force says Russia attacked the country overnight with 174 drones
- Russian officials say they destroyed 72 Ukrainian drones, some of which targeted energy facilities in the country’s Astrakhan region, injuring one person and sparking a fire
- Ukraine says Russian forces have continued efforts to invade the Sumy region of northern Ukraine, following a Russian counteroffensive in Kursk
- The EU’s Foreign Affairs Council will be meeting this morning to discuss security and how to bring peace to Ukraine. “The decisions of today will shape the security of tomorrow,” Lithuania’s foreign minister has said
Stick with us for the latest updates and analysis.
Ukraine will respond to attacks ‘until Putin stops war’, says officialpublished at 08:28 Greenwich Mean Time
Image source, Reuters
The aftermath of a Russian drone attack in Chernihiv
The head of the Ukrainian president’s office says his country will continue to respond to Russian attacks “until Putin stops the war”.
“Russia continues to attack; Ukraine is responding to the attacks,” Andriy Yermak says in a post on X.
His comments come after Russia and Ukraine launched overnight drone attacks on each other, according to officials from both countries.
The Armed Forces of Ukraine has said there were 112 clashes between Ukrainian and Russian forces yesterday.
Russia launched air strikes in several settlements across Ukraine, while the Ukrainian forces struck areas with Russian personnel and military equipment, the Ukrainian army adds on social media.
EU security meeting ‘will shape the security of tomorrow’published at 07:58 Greenwich Mean Time
Image source, Reuters
As Trump prepares to speak with Russia’s President Putin tomorrow, the EU is continuing its own efforts to bring peace to Ukraine. Its foreign affairs council will meet this morning to discuss security.
Speaking beforehand, EU foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas says Russia’s conditions on the proposed ceasefire show that “they don’t want peace”.
Quote Message
This is the strategic moment for Europe. The decisions of today will shape the security of tomorrow.”
Lithuanian Foreign Minister Kęstutis Budrys
Ukraine says Russia continues to try to invade Sumy regionpublished at 07:49 Greenwich Mean Time
Vitaliy Shevchenko
Russia editor, BBC Monitoring
Apparently building up on the success of their counteroffensive in Kursk region (see our previous post) Russian forces continue their efforts to cross the border and invade another part of Ukraine: northern Sumy region.
Russian forces have been using small assault groups to attack Ukrainian positions, and also subversive groups to carry out reconnaissance and plant landmines, Andriy Demchenko, a spokesman for the Ukrainian State Border Service, tells Ukrainian TV this morning.
But, he claims, the Ukrainian army has been “destroying these groups of infantry either after they cross into our territory or even as they’re approaching the border”.
As we reported last week, the authorities in Sumy region say Russian attacks have intensified and are now ongoing along the whole stretch of the region’s border with Russia.
One civilian has been killed in Russian attacks on Sumy region, the regional administration said in an update, external yesterday evening.
As Russia retakes Kursk, Ukrainian soldiers recount ‘catastrophic’ withdrawalpublished at 07:47 Greenwich Mean Time
Jonathan Beale
Defence correspondent, reporting from Ukraine
Image source, Russian Defence Ministry
Russian service members walk past a destroyed building in the town of Sudzha in Kursk, which was recently retaken by Russia’s armed forces – picture from the Russian Defence Ministry
Ukrainian soldiers fighting in Russia’s Kursk region have described scenes “like a horror movie” as they retreated from the front lines.
The BBC has received extensive accounts from Ukrainian troops, who recount a “catastrophic” withdrawal in the face of heavy fire, columns of military equipment destroyed, and constant attacks from swarms of Russian drones.
Ukrainian restrictions on travel to the front mean it is not possible to get a full picture. But five Ukrainian soldiers described to us what had happened.
On 9 March, “Volodymyr” sent a Telegram post to the BBC saying he was still in Sudzha, a town in Kursk, where there was “panic and collapse of the front”.
Ukrainian troops “are trying to leave – columns of troops and equipment. Some of them are burned by Russian drones on the road. It is impossible to leave during the day.”
Movement of men, logistics and equipment had been reliant on one major route between Sudzha and Ukraine’s Sumy region.
Volodymyr said it was possible to travel on that road relatively safely a month ago. By 9 March it was “all under the fire control of the enemy – drones around the clock. In one minute you can see two to three drones. That’s a lot,” he said.
“We have all the logistics here on one Sudzha-Sumy highway. And everyone knew that the [Russians] would try to cut it. But this again came as a surprise to our command.”
Ukrainian Air Force says Russia launched 174 drones overnightpublished at 07:32 Greenwich Mean Time
The Ukrainian Air Force has said Russia attacked the country overnight with 174 drones, following earlier reports of damage in Kyiv and Nikopol.
It shot down 90 drones and 70 others were successfully diverted, the air force adds.
The strikes hit the Odesa, Kharkiv, Dnipro, Kirovohrad, Sumy, Chernihiv and Kyiv regions, the post on messaging app Telegram says.
What do we know about the proposed ceasefire deal?published at 06:58 Greenwich Mean Time
Last week in Saudi Arabia, Ukrainian and American delegates met to discuss an end to the war in Ukraine.
After hours locked away in a room, they announced proposals for a 30-day ceasefire.
It was widely welcomed news, as European leaders praised the plan.
Ukraine was “ready to stop shooting and start talking,” US Secretary of State Marco Rubio said, and if Russia rejects the offer “then we’ll unfortunately know what the impediment is to peace here”.
Image source, Reuters
US and Ukrainian representatives held talks in Saudi Arabia last week
Following the announcement, US envoy Steve Witkoff took the ceasefire plan to Russia, where he met with Putin and other officials.
However, Russia is yet to agree, as Putin says there are a lot of details that need to be worked out.
Russia is ready for a halt in fighting, the leader says, but “there are nuances”. He says it must lead to “long-term peace and eliminate the root causes of this crisis”.
But this is Russia’s way of “deliberately setting conditions that only complicate and drag out the process,” according to Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelensky.
- Our correspondent Tom Bateman has gone through the deal line-by-line, decoding it to make some sense of what’s on offer
Trump plans to speak to Putin about land and power plantspublished at 06:40 Greenwich Mean Time
Watch: President Trump tells reporters he will speak to Vladimir Putin
On board his presidential plane Air Force One on Sunday evening, US President Donald Trump announced to reporters that he will be speaking to Russian President Vladimir Putin on Tuesday.
He said “a lot of work” has been done over the weekend, and they will see if they have “something to announce” on Tuesday.
It comes one week after US and Ukraine delegates met in Saudi Arabia, where they announced the prospect of a 30-day ceasefire – the first step to ending the war.
However, the US is still trying to convince Russia to agree.
On the talks with Putin, Trump says: “I think we’ll be talking about land. It’s a lot different than it was before the war, as you know. We’ll be talking about power plants, that’s a big question.
“But I think we have a lot of it already discussed very much by both sides, Ukraine and Russia. We’re already talking about that, dividing up certain assets and they’ve been working on that.”
Quote Message
We want to see if we can bring that war to an end. Maybe we can, maybe we can’t, but I think we have a very good chance.”
US President Trump
Russia and Ukraine exchange overnight drone attackspublished at 06:37 Greenwich Mean Time
Russia and Ukraine have launched overnight drone attacks at each other, officials from the respective countries say.
Ukrainian drones targeted energy facilities and other objects in Russia’s Astrakhan region, injuring one person and sparking a fire, the regional governor has said on messaging app Telegram. “The situation is under control,” Igor Babushkin adds.
Russia’s Ministry of Defence says it destroyed 72 Ukrainian drones overnight, including 36 over the Kursk region.
Meanwhile, in Ukraine, air defence units were trying to repel an attack launched by Russia in Kyiv, the capital’s Mayor Vitali Klitschko has said in a post on Monday night.
Trump plans call with Putin as Russian and Ukrainian attacks continuepublished at 06:31 Greenwich Mean Time
Imogen James
Live reporter
Image source, Getty Images
The remains of a residential building destroyed by a Russian attack in Kostiantynivka, Donetsk, this week
Good morning and welcome to our live coverage following the latest on the war in Ukraine.
Last night on Air Force One, US President Donald Trump announced that he plans to speak to his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin on Tuesday.
“We want to see if we can bring that war to an end,” he told reporters.
Trump’s administration has been involved in talks with Russia to get them to sign a 30-day ceasefire, which Ukraine has already agreed to.
It’s a tricky task – Putin has said while he is in favour of the deal there are a lot of details to be worked out beforehand.
And while diplomatic efforts continue, attacks have been rocking Russia and Ukraine.
On Monday evening, a drone attack hit Ukraine’s Nikopol region, damaging homes and leaving widespread power outages, the regional leader says. Russia also launched an attack on the Ukrainian capital Kyiv, according to the mayor.
In Russia, Astrakhan’s regional governor says an overnight Ukrainian drone attack targeted energy facilities and other objects in the region, injuring one person and causing a fire.
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