Ukraine-Russia war latest: Moscow to join peace talks with Kyiv and US for first time today

Zelensky tears into Europe over Russia and Trump in scathing Davos speech

Finnish president dismantles the idea Russia is winning war in Ukraine: ‘Utter strategic failure’

Zelensky shakes Europe by the scruff and reminds world leaders just how little they have done

Abandon your foolish Greenland fantasies, Mr President, and remember Ukraine

Key Points

• Putin holds four-hour late-night meeting with US envoys
• What to expect in trilateral talks today
• Trump says Putin and Zelensky want to make a deal to end the war
• Ukrainian negotiators heading to UAE for talks with Russia and US, Zelensky says
• Zelensky chides Europe for failing to stop Russia's 'shadow fleet' of oil tankers

Zelensky waiting on Trump to sign finalised security guarantees deal

Volodymyr Zelensky has been updating the media ahead of the first US-Russia-Ukraine trilateral meeting on Friday, and following his meeting with Donald Trump on Thursday.

On Trump and security guarantees: The Ukrainian president said he is ready to sign a deal on security guarantees, and that he is waiting only for his US counterpart, a date and a place. He also discussed with Mr Trump the provision of additional Pac-3 and anti-ballistic missiles for air defence - and that he hopes for a positive response.

The pair also discussed the question of a “free economic zone” in Ukraine to stimulate economic growth post-war. Mr Zelensky said it is important for Kyiv to understand the source of the financing for any package on post-war recovery.

On today’s trilateral meeting: Mr Zelensky said that the critical question of territory will be discussed during the trilateral talks in Abu Dhabi. The Ukrainian delegation, he said, will include military intelligence representatives.

He is expecting to talk with the Ukrainian team at about 3pm/4pm about what is to be discussed. It is unclear whether he meant in Ukrainian time (1/2pm GMT) or Abu Dhabi time ((11am/12pm GMT).

Mr Zelensky added that he will provide feedback to Kyiv’s European partners following the trilateral meeting.

Fire breaks out at oil depot after downed drone in Russia, says governor

Debris from a downed drone sparked a fire at an oil depot in Russia’s Penza region, the regional governor said on Friday.

Air defence systems took down four drones in total but the fragments of one fell on the territory of Penza, according to Oleg Melnichenko, region’s governor.

Emergency services continue to work at the site and there are no reported injuries.

Trump whisperers, bullying and leaked texts: World leaders are still struggling to deal with the Rule of Don

“We’re going to Davos - it’s going to be an interesting trip,” said Donald Trump, just before boarding a delayed Air Force One flight to the annual World Economic Forum.

Hours later the US president was tearing into his European and Nato allies in a characteristically combative speech to world leaders and CEOs in Switzerland.

He threatened France with tariffs over drug prices, said Denmark had fallen to Nazi Germany within six hours and that without the US, everyone in the room would “all be speaking German.... and a little Japanese perhaps”.

James C Reynolds reports:

Trump whisperers, bullies and leaked texts: World leaders struggle to deal with Don

What to expect in trilateral talks today

As announced by Volodymyr Zelensky following his speech in Davos on Thursday, a delegation from the US, Ukraine and Russia will hold their first trilateral talks since the Russian invasion in 2022.

On Friday morning, Mr Zelensky told reporters in a WhatsApp group that the question of territory will be discussed during the meeting, after Donald Trump’s envoy Steve Witkoff claimed that only one issue remained in the talks.

You may recall that a team from Moscow and Kyiv sat down for face-to-face talks last summer - it was Turkey that was mediating at the time.

It’s not clear which negotiators will attend the talks, but the Ukrainian president said on Thursday they will be held at the “technical level”. Kremlin adviser Yuri Ushakov said it will be a meeting of a “trilateral working group on security issues”.

Whether Russian peace envoy Kirill Dmitriev or Ukraine’s lead negotiator Rustem Umerov will be at the table is unknown, but we do expect that Trump’s special envoy Steve Witkoff and son-in-law Jared Kushner - who met Vladimir Putin in Moscow last night and confirmed the trilateral talks - will be at the talks.

Stay with our live blog as we bring you all the latest news and reaction, from what could be a significant day for the Russia-Ukraine peace process.

At least 1,940 apartment buildings without heating in Kyiv, says mayor

A Russian air attack has left 1,940 apartment buildings in Ukraine’s capital Kyiv without heating, the city’s mayor said on Friday.

Mayor Vitali Klitschko said that the buildings were being reconnected for the second time after an earlier Russian attack on 9 January, in a post on the Telegram app.

Ukraine is facing its coldest winter in decades as attacks on the country’s energy infrastructure impacting heating and electricity.

Everything we know so far

If you are just joining us, here are the key developments from late Thursday night:

• Russian president Vladimir Putin held overnight talks with Donald Trump's envoys, as the Kremlin said any peace settlement in Ukraine would depend on resolving territorial issues.
• The meeting, which lasted nearly four hours and ran past 3am on Friday, was described by Kremlin aide Yuri Ushakov as “frank” and “constructive”.
• Ushakov said Moscow had reiterated that a long-term deal was impossible without agreement on territory, referring to Russia’s claims over eastern Ukraine.
• Trump’s envoys briefed Putin on Trump’s meeting with Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelensky in Davos, where Zelensky said peace proposals were “nearly ready” but territorial issues remained unresolved.
• Russian, Ukrainian and US officials are set to hold the first trilateral peace talks in Abu Dhabi later on Friday.
• Ukraine’s energy minister Denys Shmyhal said Ukraine endured the most difficult day for its energy system since the blackout in November 2022, calling the situation “extremely serious”.

Zelensky tears into Europe over Russia and Trump in scathing Davos speech

Volodymyr Zelensky has launched a scathing attack on European leaders over their support for Ukraine during an astonishing speech to world leaders at Davos.

Taking to the stage shortly after a meeting with Donald Trump, the Ukrainian president declared Kyiv was living in “Groundhog Day”, adding that Europe “loves to discuss the future but avoids taking action” against Russia.

He added: “Every forum like this one proves it. Just last year, here in Davos, I ended my speech with the words Europe needs to know how to defend itself. A year has passed, and nothing has changed.”

The Ukrainian president did, however, indicate progress during his remarks at the World Economic Forum in Switzerland, announcing that Kyiv, Moscow and the US will hold their first trilateral peace talks in the UAE on Friday.

Mr Trump described his meeting with Mr Zelensky as “very good” during brief comments after it concluded. Earlier in the day, the US president reiterated his previous claims that a peace deal in Ukraine was “close”.

Zelensky turns on Europe over Russia and Trump: you’re all talk and no action

Editorial: Abandon your foolish Greenland fantasies, Mr President, and remember Ukraine

Now deep into what might be called his anecdotage, Donald Trump couldn’t help himself in delivering his usual repertoire of supposedly entertaining and inspirational stories to a bemused captive audience at the World Economic Forum in Davos.

Then just hours later, he performed a surprise U-turn and abandoned his latest tariff threat against Europe entirely, after reaching the “framework of a future deal” with Nato. One wonders if all the dramatics were worth it.

In any case, the president found time in his lengthy address to mention the war in Ukraine – a real and bloody conflict, in sharp contrast to the improbable one in Greenland. Specifically, the president made reference to the tens of thousands of soldiers who are still being slaughtered every week as Vladimir Putin’s “special military operation” approaches the end of its fourth year.

Read more here:

Abandon your foolish Greenland fantasies, Mr President, and remember Ukraine

Ukraine, Russia and US to hold first trilateral meeting this week, says Zelensky

Volodymyr Zelensky has revealed that delegations from the US, Russia and Ukraine will all meet in the United Arab Emirates this weekend.

It would be the first trilateral meeting between the three countries to end the ongoing war, he says. Previous talks between Moscow and Kyiv delegations last year were mediated by Turkey.

The meetings will take place on Friday and Saturday, Zelensky adds.

“I think this is good, on the technical level we will begin these trilateral meetings. Russians have to be ready for compromises, everybody has to be ready, not just Ukraine,” he says.

“We will see what the result will be.”

Watch: Trump says Zelensky and Putin are 'stupid' if peace deal not agreed

Taiwan offers talks with Ukraine on sanctions evasion after missile parts claim

Taiwan president Lai Ching-te on Friday offered to hold talks with Ukraine to step up efforts against sanctions evasion, after Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelensky named the island as a source of illicit missile components used by Russia.

Since Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022, Taiwan – a global semiconductor powerhouse – has repeatedly tightened export controls to prevent high-tech goods from being used for military purposes and has joined wide-ranging Western-led sanctions against Moscow.

Speaking in Davos on Thursday, Zelensky said Russia would be unable to produce missiles without “critical components sourced from China, Europe, the United States and Taiwan”.

Responding in English on X, Lai said Taiwan had long worked with international partners to “staunchly support Ukraine through humanitarian aid and coordinated sanctions”.

“We welcome further exchanges of information with President @ZelenskyyUa to further clamp down on illegal third-country transshipment and concealed end use,” Lai said, posting a photograph of orchids in the blue and yellow colours of Ukraine’s flag.

Lai added that “young Taiwanese have sacrificed their lives to defend freedom in Ukraine”, referring to volunteer fighters who have died while fighting against Russia.

“We remain clear: any assistance to the aggressor or violations of international embargoes and export control regulations are unacceptable. We pray for peace to be restored to Ukraine soon,” he said.

Speaking to reporters in Taipei later on Friday, Lai said he welcomed any information from Zelensky on sanctions busting.

“We are willing to strengthen controls on goods routed through third countries while concealing their final destination, to prevent them from entering Russia and to protect Ukraine,” he added.

Ukraine says situation 'extremely serious' after attacks on energy system

Ukraine endured what officials described as its most punishing day for the energy system since the first year of Russia’s full-scale invasion on Thursday.

It comes as a deepening power crisis left large parts of the country without heat, electricity and water in sub-zero temperatures.

Energy minister Denys Shmyhal said the humanitarian emergency was the result of sustained and deliberate Russian strikes on critical energy infrastructure – a strategy Moscow has pursued every winter since 2022.

“Today in Ukraine was the most difficult day for the energy system since the blackout in November 2022,” Shmyhal wrote on Telegram.

He said the attacks had damaged power generation equipment and crippled distribution networks and transformers, forcing rolling emergency shutdowns.

The situation, he said, was “extremely serious”, with Kyiv, the surrounding Kyiv region and Dnipropetrovsk among the worst affected.

Kyiv’s energy system remains under severe strain following large-scale Russian strikes on 9 January and January 20, with president Volodymyr Zelensky declaring a state of emergency in the energy sector on 14 January, in the midst of the attacks.

Not all members of EU are helping Ukraine

European countries, which see their own future defence at stake in Russia’s war in Ukraine on its eastern flank, have provided financial, military and humanitarian support for Kyiv, but not all members of the 27-nation European Union are helping.

Ukraine also has been frustrated by political disagreements within Europe over how to deal with Russia, as well as the bloc's at times slow-moving responses.

Russia's bigger army has managed to capture about 20 per cent of Ukraine since hostilities began in 2014 and its full-scale invasion of 2022.

But the battlefield gains along the roughly 600-mile front line have been costly for Moscow, and the Russian economy is feeling the consequences of the war and international sanctions.

Ukraine is short of money and, despite significantly boosting its own arms manufacturing, still needs Western weaponry. It is also short-handed on the front line. Its defence minister last week reported some 200,000 troop desertions and draft-dodging by about two million Ukrainians.

In pictures: Putin's late night meeting with US officials

Vladimir Putin pulled an all-nighter, sitting down with US envoys for a meeting that stretched on for nearly four hours.

The US delegation included US special envoy Steve Witkoff, Jared Kushner, Trump’s son-in-law, who last met Putin in the Kremlin in early December and Josh Gruenbaum, newly appointed as a senior adviser to Trump’s Board of Peace, tasked with addressing global conflicts.

Watch: Witkoff says 'we’re closer to Ukraine peace deal than in years'

Putin says resolving territory dispute is the key issue

Kremlin aide Yuri Ushakov says Putin has underlined that Russia was "sincerely interested" in a diplomatic solution.

But he stressed that there was no hope of achieving long-term settlement without resolving the territorial issue according to the formula agreed upon in Anchorage.

He added: "Until this is achieved, Russia will continue to consistently pursue the objectives of the special military operation. This is especially true on the battlefield, where the Russian armed forces hold the strategic initiative."

Ukraine offers valuable wartime combat data to allies

Ukraine is poised to establish a system enabling its allies to train their artificial intelligence models using Kyiv's invaluable combat data, meticulously gathered throughout the nearly four-year conflict with Russia.

This significant development was announced by the newly appointed Defence Minister, Mykhailo Fedorov.

Mr Fedorov, who recently transitioned from his role as digitalisation minister to spearhead reforms across Ukraine's vast defence ministry and armed forces, has described Kyiv's wartime data trove as a crucial "card" in its ongoing negotiations with other nations.

Read more here:

Ukraine offers valuable wartime combat data to allies

Putin holds four-hour late-night meeting with US envoys

Ahead of three-way security talks in Abu Dhabi, Vladimir Putin and three US envoys held a meeting that began shortly before midnight and lasted nearly four hours.

Kremlin aide Yuri Ushakov told reporters the talks had been useful and extremely frank.

However, it ended without any breakthrough.

He said Russian Admiral Igor Kostyukov would head Moscow's team at the three-way security talks, and investment envoy Kirill Dmitriev would meet separately on economic issues with Steve Witkoff, the envoy of President Donald Trump.

But while outlining the next steps, Ushakov stopped short of hailing any major breakthrough.

"Most importantly, during these talks between our president and the Americans, it was reiterated that without resolving the territorial issue according to the formula agreed upon in Anchorage, there is no hope of achieving a long-term settlement," he said, referring to last year's Trump-Putin summit in Alaska.

Ushakov said Putin underlined that Russia was "sincerely interested" in a diplomatic solution.

He added, however: "Until this is achieved, Russia will continue to consistently pursue the objectives of the special military operation. This is especially true on the battlefield, where the Russian armed forces hold the strategic initiative."

Putin, Ushakov and Dmitriev took part in the talks on the Russian side.

On the US side, Witkoff and Trump's son-in-law Jared Kushner, who last met Putin in the Kremlin in early December, were accompanied by Josh Gruenbaum, newly appointed by Trump as a senior adviser to his Board of Peace, which will seek to tackle world conflicts.

'Europe looks lost,' Zelensky says in scathing attack

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has criticised his European allies for what he portrayed as the continent's slow and inadequate response to Russia's invasion nearly four years ago and its continued international aggression.

Addressing the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, Mr Zelensky listed a litany of grievances and criticisms of Europe that he said have left Ukraine at the mercy of Russian President Vladimir Putin amid an ongoing US push for a peace settlement.

"Europe looks lost," Mr Zelenskyy said in his speech, urging the continent to become a global force. He contrasted Europe's response with Washington's bold steps in Venezuela and Iran.

The former comic actor referred to the movie Groundhog Day, in which the main character must relive the same day over and over again.

"Just last year, here in Davos, I ended my speech with the words: Europe needs to know how to defend itself. A year has passed. And nothing has changed. We are still in a situation where I must say the same words again," Mr Zelensky said.

He said that Ukrainians too seem caught in that reality in the war, "repeating the same thing for weeks, months and, of course, for years. And yet that is exactly how we live now. It's our life."

Watch: Trump says Zelensky and Putin are 'stupid' if peace deal not agreed

Finnish president dismantles the idea Russia is winning war in Ukraine: ‘Utter strategic failure’

Finnish president Alexander Stubb has branded Russia’s war in Ukraine a “complete strategic failure for Vladimir Putin” in a scathing attack on the Russian leader.

Speaking at a panel at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Mr Stubb said Putin’s war in Ukraine has only served to strengthen European integration, unity and defence investment.

“This war has become a complete strategic failure for Vladimir Putin,” Mr Stubb said. “He expanded Nato, he made Ukraine European, and he forced European states to increase their defence budgets. And now we are asking ourselves whether we are capable of defending ourselves. My answer is yes.”

Alex Croft reports:

Finnish president dismisses idea Russia is winning in Ukraine: ‘Strategic failure’

One major issue still to be resolved in peace talks, Witkoff says

The Trump administration is pushing for a peace settlement, with its envoys shuttling between Kyiv and Moscow. Donald Trump's special envoy Steve Witkoff and his son-in-law Jared Kushner arrived in Moscow late on Thursday and sat down for more talks with Mr Putin, the Kremlin said.

One major issue remains to be resolved in negotiations, Mr Witkoff said at Davos, without saying what it was. Mr Zelensky said the future status of Ukrainian land currently occupied by Russia is unresolved but that peace proposals are "nearly ready".

Post-war security guarantees, should a deal be reached, are agreed between the US and Ukraine, although they would require each country's ratification, he said.

Mr Zelensky said there would be two days of trilateral meetings involving the US, Ukraine and Russia due to begin in the United Arab Emirates on Friday.

"Russians have to be ready for compromises because, you know, everybody has to be ready, not only Ukraine, and this is important for us," he said

Trump claims Putin will 'make concessions' and says Ukraine war 'doesn't affect us very much'

President Trump on Thursday gave a window into his ongoing thinking about efforts to end Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.

Speaking to reporters on Air Force One, the president claimed Vladimir Putin will “make concessions” to speed along the peace process, which will unfold at a trilateral meeting involving the U.S. in the United Arab Emirates this weekend and Trump official Steve Witkoff meeting with the Russian leader in Moscow.

“He'll make concessions,” Trump said of Putin. “Everybody's making concessions to get it done. Europe is going to be a part of it...Look, it's more for Europe than for me.”

The president added that he wants to stop the loss of innocent lives but doesn’t think the war in Ukraine impacts the U.S. very much.

“It doesn't affect us very much, other than the loss of lives, we're not affected by this,” Trump said. “It's thousands of miles away. We're separated by an ocean. But I have an ability to get things done like this, and we'll see if I can get it done.”

The Republican added that Putin may want all of Ukraine’s territory, but “he’s not gonna be going there unless we don’t make a deal.”

Trump says Putin and Zelensky want to make a deal to end the war

President Donald Trump said on Thursday that both Russian President Vladimir Putin and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky have said they would like to make a deal to end the nearly four-year-old war.

Earlier in the day, Trump met Zelensky on the sidelines of the World Economic Forum in Switzerland.

Russian forces 'hit two localities in southeast Ukraine, killing one'

Russian forces launched attacks on two localities in southeastern Ukraine on Thursday, killing one person and injuring more than 20, local officials said.

The governor of Zaporizhzhia region said in a Telegram post that Russian forces launched four strikes on the town of Komyshuvakha, killing one person and injuring 10. Several private homes were damaged in the attack on the town, east of the region's main city, also called Zaporizhzhia.

In the industrial city of Kryvyi Rih, President Volodymyr Zelenskiy's home town in Dnipropetrovsk region, a combined drone and missile attack injured 13 people, including four children, Oleksandr Vilkul, head of the city's military administration, said on Telegram.

The attacks hit apartment buildings, schools and critical infrastructure.

"The main thing is everyone is alive," Vilkul wrote. "Six people are in hospital, including three children."

It could not be independently confirmed the attacks had taken place and Russian officials made no comment.

Russian strategic bombers conduct patrol over Baltic Sea, defence ministry says

Russian Tu-22M3 long-range strategic bomber planes carried out a scheduled patrol over neutral waters of the Baltic Sea, the defence ministry reported via its Telegram channel.

The bombers were accompanied by Sukhoi Su-35S and Su-30SM fighter jets, the ministry said.

Russia regularly conducts such patrols as a show of strength. The announcement was made minutes after president Vladimir Putin began a meeting with three US envoys in the Kremlin to discuss proposals for ending the war in Ukraine.

Zelensky chides Europe for failing to stop Russia's 'shadow fleet' of oil tankers

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has chided Europe for being slow to act on key decisions, spending too little on defence, failing to stop Russia's "shadow fleet" of oil tankers that are breaking international sanctions, and balking at using its frozen assets in Europe to finance Ukraine, among other things.

Europe, he said, "still feels more like a geography, history, a tradition, not a real political force, not a great power."

"Some Europeans are really strong, it's true, but many say we must stand strong, and they always want someone else to tell them how long they need to stand strong, preferably until the next election," he said.

The Trump administration is pushing for a peace settlement, with its envoys shuttling between Kyiv and Moscow in a flurry of negotiations that some worry could force Ukraine into an unfavorable deal.

Watch: Zelensky says ‘we are living in Groundhog Day’ in scathing attack on world leaders over lack of support

Putin meets Witkoff and Kushner for late-night talks on Ukraine, Kremlin says

Russian President Vladimir Putin began a meeting with US envoys Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner late on Thursday to discuss a plan to end the war in Ukraine, the Kremlin said.

Putin was meeting the two Americans shortly before midnight in Moscow after US President Donald Trump said a deal was "reasonably close" and Witkoff said negotiations had come down to one last issue.

Zelensky says Ukraine clinched accords on new air defence package in Davos

President Volodymyr Zelensky said on Thursday that Ukraine had clinched agreements on a new air defence package during meetings at the World Economic Forum in Davos.

"We are returning home with agreements on a new package of critically needed air defence for the protectionof our people," Zelensky wrote in English on the X social media platform.

Ukrainian negotiators heading to UAE for talks with Russia and US, Zelensky says

Ukrainian negotiators are en route to the United Arab Emirates for talks with Russian and US negotiating teams, President Volodymyr Zelensky said on Thursday.

"Our team is now heading to the Emirates for meetings with both the American and Russian sides," Zelensky wrote on Telegram after a day of talks at the World Economic Forum in Davos. "We are waiting to see how it goes and will decide on the next steps."

Zelensky had earlier said that negotiators from the three sides would hold meetings in Abu Dhabi on Friday and Saturday.

Ukraine's energy system has most difficult day since late 2022, minister says

Ukraine's energy system on Thursday endured its most difficult day since a widespread blackout hit the network in November 2022 and the situation remains "extremely difficult," energy minister Denys Shmyhal said.

Shmyhal, who is also first deputy prime minister, said the difficulties were caused by a series of factors – constant shelling as well as damage to generating equipment and transformers. Conditions were most difficult in Kyiv and the surrounding region and in southeastern Dnipropetrovsk region. "Today in Ukraine was the most difficult day for the power system since the blackout of November 2022," he wrote. "The situation is extremely difficult."

Full story: French navy intercepts Russian ‘shadow fleet’ tanker in the Mediterranean

The French navy has intercepted one of Russia’s sanctioned “shadow fleet” oil tankers in the Mediterranean with help from Britain.

Emmanuel Macron revealed that French forces had boarded a vessel this morning with allied support. The ship was subject to international sanctions and suspected of operating under a false flag, he said.

“We are determined to uphold international law and to ensure the effective enforcement of sanctions,” the French president wrote on social media. “The activities of the ‘shadow fleet’ contribute to financing the war of aggression against Ukraine.”

James C. Reynolds reports:

French navy intercepts Russian ‘shadow fleet’ tanker in the Mediterranean

US envoys Witkoff and Kushner arrive in Moscow for talks with Putin on Ukraine, flight tracking site says

US envoys Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner arrived in Moscow on Thursday evening for talks with Russian President Vladimir Putin on a peace deal for Ukraine, according to a track of their plane on air traffic site Flightradar24.

The two Americans flew in from Switzerland, where they met Ukrainian officials this week and President Donald Trump met Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy in Davos on Thursday.

Starmer and Frederiksen discuss next steps for Coalition of the Willing

British prime minister Sir Keir Starmer and his Danish counterpart Mette Frederiksen discussed next steps for the Coalition of the Willing during a meeting at Chequers this afternoon.

A Downing Street spokesperson said: “The prime minister hosted the Danish prime minister, Mette Frederiksen, at Chequers this afternoon.

"The leaders began by reflecting on recent developments. They agreed that security in the Arctic was a matter for the entire Nato alliance, and Europe and Nato would continue to drive forward progress.

"The leaders also discussed how the UK and Denmark could deepen broader security cooperation, both bilaterally and across Europe, including through increasing interoperability between militaries.

"On Ukraine, the prime minister condemned Russia's vicious attacks on Ukraine's energy infrastructure, and the leaders discussed next steps for the Coalition of the Willing.”

Keep focus on Ukraine, EU's top diplomat urges

The EU’s top diplomat has urged world powers to keep focus on Ukraine.

Kaja Kallas said: “It’s important to focus back on where the problems are, like Ukraine.”

Starmer says he has concerns about Putin being on Board of Peace

British Prime Minister Keir Starmer said on Thursday he "obviously" had concerns about Russian President Vladimir Putin being on US President Donald Trump's proposed "Board of Peace."

Trump said on Wednesday that Putin had accepted his invitation to join the initiative but the Russian leader said the invitation was only under consideration.

"I obviously have concerns about Putin being on a Board of Peace," Starmer said in an interview with Channel 4 News. "He is waging war on a European country. They're raining down bombs on Ukraine."

"We mustn't let the events of the last week or so deflect from the focus. We need to work with the Americans. It's going to be allies and others to defend and support Ukraine in a conflict which is not of their making."

Full story: Zelensky tears into Europe over Russia and Trump in scathing Davos speech

Volodymyr Zelensky has launched a scathing attack on European leaders over their support for Ukraine during an astonishing speech to world leaders at Davos.

Taking to the stage shortly after a meeting with Donald Trump, the Ukrainian president declared Kyiv was living in “Groundhog Day”, adding that Europe “loves to discuss the future but avoids taking action” against Russia.

He added: “Every forum like this one proves it. Just last year, here in Davos, I ended my speech with the words Europe needs to know how to defend itself. A year has passed, and nothing has changed.”

Alex Croft reports:

Zelensky turns on Europe over Russia and Trump: you’re all talk and no action

UK supported French operation to board Russian tanker near Gibraltar, Healey says

British defence minister John Healey said on Thursday Britain had provided tracking and monitoring support for a French operation to board a Russian tanker.

Healey added that this support included a vessel, HMS Dagger, monitoring the tanker as it passed through the Straits of Gibraltar.

US will follow up on Ukraine security guarantees if they are agreed, Dutch PM says

Dutch Prime Minister Dick Schoof said on Thursday he was convinced the United States would follow up on security guarantees for Ukraine if these were agreed in a possible peace deal.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said he discussed security guarantees and a plan for post-war recovery during his meeting with US President Donald Trump in Davos earlier in the day.

EU should be united and protect relations with US, Polish PM says

Poland hopes European Union countries will act together on Greenland, US President Donald Trump's "Board of Peace" and Ukraine, Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk said before an emergency summit of EU leaders in Brussels on Thursday.

"For us, the United States is absolutely the most important partner when it comes to our security," he said, adding that Europe needs to protect its relations with the US.