Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky offered to drop Kyiv's aspirations to join the NATO military alliance as he held five hours of talks with US envoys in Berlin on Sunday to end the war with Russia, with negotiations set to continue on Monday. Read our blog to see how the day's events unfolded.
UK MI6 spy chief warns of 'aggressive' Russia threat in first speech
The head of Britain's Secret Intelligence Service, the foreign spy service known as MI6, will warn that Russia poses an "aggressive, expansionist, and revisionist" threat, in her first speech since taking office.
Blaise Metreweli took over from Richard Moore in October, becoming the first female chief of MI6 - a role publicly known by the codename "C" - in its 116-year history.
"(Vladimir) Putin should be in no doubt, our support is enduring. The pressure we apply on Ukraine's behalf will be sustained," Metreweli will say on Monday, according to advance extracts of her remarks.
"The export of chaos is a feature not a bug in the Russian approach to international engagement, and we should be ready for this to continue until Putin is forced to change his calculus."
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'A lot of progress' made in US-Ukraine talks in Berlin: Trump envoy
US Special Envoy Steve Witkoff says "a lot of progress" was made during talks with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky on a proposal to end the war with Russia.
The meeting in Berlin between Zelensky and a US delegation -- including Witkoff and President Donald Trump's son-in-law Jared Kushner -- "lasted over five hours," according to a readout posted by Witkoff on X.
"Representatives held in-depth discussions regarding the 20-point plan for peace, economic agendas, and more. A lot of progress was made, and they will meet again tomorrow morning."
Ukraine, US peace talks in Berlin end, to resume Monday
Talks between Ukrainian and US officials on proposals for a settlement of the war in Ukraine have ended after more than five hours and are set to resume on Monday, a Ukrainian presidential adviser said.
"They went on for more than five hours and ended for today with an agreement to resume tomorrow morning," adviser Dmytro Lytvyn told reporters in a WhatsApp chat.
Lytvyn said Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy would comment on the talks on Monday once they were completed. Officials, Lytvyn said, were considering the draft documents.
Zelensky offers to drop NATO bid for security guarantees, rejects US push to cede territory
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has voiced readiness to drop his country’s bid to join NATO in exchange for Western security guarantees as he holds talks with US envoys on ending the war.
However, the Ukrainian leader rejected the US push for Ukraine to agree to cede territory to Russia.
The Ukrainian leader posted pictures of the negotiating table with German Chancellor Friedrich Merz sitting next to him facing the US delegation, including Trump’s special envoy Steve Witkoff and Trump’s son-in-law Jared Kushner.
Credit: Ukrainian presidential press office via Reuters
Responding to journalists’ questions in audio clips on a WhatsApp group chat before the talks, Zelensky said that since the US and some European nations had rejected Ukraine’s push to join NATO, Kyiv expects the West to offer a set of guarantees similar to those offered to the alliance members.
“These security guarantees are an opportunity to prevent another wave of Russian aggression,” he said. “And this is already a compromise on our part.”
Ukraine's Zelensky says meeting in Berlin with US envoys underway
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky says his meeting with a US delegation including Donald Trump's special envoy Steve Witkoff and the US president's son-in-law Jared Kushner has started in Berlin.
"We began our meeting," Zelensky said on Facebook, posting pictures showing the Ukrainian delegation joined by German Chancellor Friedrich Merz, and the US representatives including Witkoff, Kushner and NATO's top commander in Europe, US General Alexus Grynkewich.
Russia says drone attack did not damage Afipsky oil refinery
Drone fragments caused a fire near the Afipsky oil refinery in Russia's Krasnodar region without inflicting any injuries or damage, a local emergencies centre has said.
"A gas pipe caught fire outside the refinery near one of the checkpoints. The fire covered an area of 100 square metres and has since been extinguished," the centre said on the Telegram messaging app.
Ukraine had said earlier that its military had hit the refinery and an oil depot in the Russian Volgograd region.
Zelensky says will seek US support to freeze front line at Berlin talks
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said he hoped the United States would back the idea of freezing the front line in Ukraine along its current shape at talks in Berlin.
"The fairest possible option is to 'stay where we are'. This is true because it is a ceasefire... I know that Russia does not view this positively, and I would like the Americans to support us on this issue," Zelensky told reporters shortly before arriving in Berlin for talks with US President Donald Trump's envoy and European leaders.
Kremlin says NATO's Rutte is irresponsible to talk of war with Russia
The Kremlin said that NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte's remarks about preparing for war with Russia were irresponsible and showed that he did not really understand the devastation wrought by World War Two.
Russia invaded Ukraine in February 2022 after eight years of fighting between Russian-backed separatists and Ukrainian troops in the Donbas. The war has triggered the biggest confrontation between Moscow and the West since the depths of the Cold War.
Rutte, in a speech in Berlin on Thursday, said that NATO should be "prepared for the scale of war our grandparents or great-grandparents endured" and asserted that "we are Russia's next target."
Zelensky says there will be compromises on peace proposals
President Volodymyr Zelensky said that there would be compromises on peace proposals on how to end the war with Russia ahead of talks in Berlin with US and European partners.
Answering reporters' questions in a WhatsApp chat, Zelensky said that the US, and European and other partners' security guarantees instead of NATO membership for Kyiv was a compromise on Ukraine's side.
US envoys arrive in Berlin for another round of Ukraine peace talks
US envoys arrived in Berlin Sunday morning for another round of talks intended to secure a deal to end the war in Ukraine.
US President Donald Trump’s special envoy Steve Witkoff and Trump’s son-in-law Jared Kushner were spotted in downtown Berlin by a photographer for German news agency dpa.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said that Ukrainian, US and European officials will hold a series of meetings in Berlin in the coming days.
“Most importantly, I will be meeting with envoys of President Trump, and there will also be meetings with our European partners, with many leaders, concerning the foundation of peace — a political agreement to end the war,” Zelensky said in an address to the nation late Saturday.
Iran's foreign minister to visit Russia and Belarus, foreign ministry says
Iran's Foreign Minister, Abbas Araqchi, will visit Russia and Belarus in the next two to three days, foreign ministry spokesperson Esmail Baghaei said on Sunday.
Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian met Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin in Turkmenistan on Friday.
Russia downs 235 Ukrainian drones overnight, defence ministry says
Russia's defence ministry said on Sunday that air defence systems intercepted and destroyed 235 Ukrainian drones overnight.
An oil depot caught fire in Uryupinsk in Volgograd region due to fallen drone debris, a regional governor said.
At least ten Russian airports, including in Moscow and Saint Petersburg, imposed temporary flight restrictions during the night, according to the aviation regulator.
US envoy to meet Zelensky, Europe leaders in Berlin this weekend
US President Donald Trump's special envoy will meet with Volodymyr Zelensky and other European leaders in Berlin this weekend, the White House said, as Washington presses for a plan to end Russia's war with Ukraine.
Ahead of the meetings, Zelensky warned on Saturday that Russia "still aims to destroy" Ukraine, as Kyiv said "massive" Russian strikes on energy facilities overnight had left thousands without power across the country.
Russia said it had hit Ukrainian facilities with hypersonic ballistic missiles, in what it called retaliation for Ukrainian attacks.
"It is important that everyone now sees what Russia is doing – every step they take in terror against our people... for this is clearly not about ending the war," the Ukrainian president said on X.
Belarusian authorities have released Nobel Peace Prize laureate Ales Bialiatski and key opposition figure Maria Kolesnikova from prison.
Russia said it hit Ukrainian industrial and energy facilities overnight with hypersonic missiles, in what it called a retaliation attack for Ukrainian strikes on "civilian targets" in Russia.
