The Kremlin says it's wrong to suggest Vladimir Putin rejected US proposals for peace in Ukraine after talks with US negotiators in Moscow
Putin's spokesman says some parts were "accepted", but other parts were "unacceptable"
Meanwhile, UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer's spokesman responds to Putin saying yesterday that Russia didn't want to fight Europe – but was "ready" for war if necessary
"This is yet more Kremlin claptrap from a president who isn't serious about peace," Starmer's spokesman says
Nato foreign ministers – including from the UK – are meeting in Brussels to discuss Ukraine, as well as defence issues
EU chief Ursula von der Leyen says the EU has reached a provisional deal to end Russian gas imports by 2027 – you can see Russia's fossil fuel revenue from Europe and elsewhere here
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'Putin showing no signs of compromise', says BBC's Steve Rosenberg
Edited by Angus Thompson and Tinshui Yeung, with Joel Gunter in Kyiv and Nick Beake in Brussels
As we've reported, Vladimir Putin said on Tuesday that if Europe "wants to go to war and starts one, we are ready right now".
Downing Street has now dismissed Putin's comments as "yet more Kremlin claptrap from a president who isn't serious about peace".
Asked if the UK is ready for war, Prime Minister Keir Starmer's spokesperson said that the government's "investment in defence is clear for all to see" and that "our armed forces always stand ready to defend this country".
The official also stressed European nations stood "united in supporting Ukraine" and Nato is "ready to respond to any threats with unity and strength".
European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen valued the loan package at £79bn
The European Commission has proposed to fund Ukraine with immobilised Russian assets, in what its president called a "reparations loan".
Ursula von der Leyen earlier told a media conference the EU would cover "two thirds of Ukraine's financing needs" for the next two years – which she valued at €90bn (£79bn) – with the remaining amount to be covered by international partners.
Belgium, where the majority of the Russian assets are located, criticised the proposal – but von der Leyen assured that "almost all" of their concerns were taken into account.
"We have strong safeguards in place throughout to protect member states and reduce risks as much as possible," she added.
We've been hearing about the eastern city of Pokrovsk, which Russia claims to have taken but Ukraine denies.
Earlier this week, Moscow said it had taken control of the city, with videos circulating online showing Russian soldiers unfurling a Russian flag in the town.
But while Ukraine's armed forces say the situation in Pokrovsk "is extremely difficult" they claim the army continues to hold parts of the strategic city.
Quoted by Ukrinform, spokesman for the Ukrainian armed forces Dmytro Lykhovii says Ukraine continues to hold the northern part of the city, "approximately along the railway line".
BBC Verify also spoke to analysts on Tuesday to get their assessment.
George Barros at the Institute for the Study of War (ISW), a US-based think tank, said Vladimir Putin claimed that troops had seized control of Pokrovsk prematurely “as part of a cognitive warfare effort in order to shape the US-Russian negotiations in Moscow”.
One thread we've been following today is the European Union's provisional agreement to phase out Russian gas by 2027. Now Hungary's foreign minister Péter Szijjártó says his country, along with Slovakia, will challenge it in the Court of Justice.
Speaking to reporters after the provisional agreement was announced this morning, Szijjártó says it would leave the country "vulnerable", endanger its energy security and massively increase energy bills for Hungarian families.
He says it is "impossible" for Hungary to accept and implement such a deal by 2027, and legal proceedings will be launched once the EU decision is finalised.
Elsewhere, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov claims the deal would condemn the EU to higher energy costs and accelerate its economic decline.
A little earlier, we brought you comments from Nato foreign ministers who are in Brussels as part of ongoing talks to end the war in Ukraine.
We can update you that Ukrainian Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha, who is part of a working lunch with the alliance's foreign ministers, met Nato chief Mark Rutte.
In a post on social media platform X, he says the pair discussed "the latest details on our progress in peace efforts and next steps to put an end to the war".
Czech foreign minister Jan Lipavsky also says on X that the top of the agenda today will be support for Ukraine, "the threat of Russia and the growing challenge posed by China".
And Lithuanian Foreign Minister Kestutis Budrys tells reporters that even after a future ceasefire in Ukraine, "Russia is and will remain a direct military threat to Nato".
The issue of territory remains at the heart of negotiations for both sides. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said the "territorial issue is the most difficult" element of the peace deal.
The Kremlin continues to push for Ukraine to cede territory it still controls in the east – something Kyiv has long-maintained it will never do.
Our defence correspondent Jonathan Beale, reporting from Kyiv, has reported that ceding territory where at least a quarter of a million Ukrainians live – the Donetsk "fortress belt" cities of Slovyansk, Kramatorsk and Druzhkivka – will not be acceptable to most Ukrainians.
Fighting has been raging on for the strategic town of Pokrovsk, which Russia says it has captured. Ukraine rejected this, saying fighting was ongoing.
The US-backed draft peace plan proposes that Crimea, Luhansk and Donetsk would be recognised "as de facto Russian, including by the United States". This would mean Ukraine and other countries would not need to recognise Russian control by law.
The draft also suggests that in the southern regions of Kherson and Zaporizhzia, the front lines would be frozen and Russia would relinquish areas it has occupied elsewhere in Ukraine – a reference to the north-eastern Kharkiv and Sumy regions, as well the Mykolaiv region in the south.
Zelensky has previously said that allowing Moscow to seize land by force would set a dangerous precedent.
Paul Adams
Diplomatic correspondent, reporting from Dnipro, Ukraine
Two lines last night from Vladimir Putin’s foreign policy adviser Yuri Ushakov highlight the essence of Russia’s attitude towards Ukraine and its approach to negotiations with Donald Trump.
“Territorial issues were discussed specifically, without which we do not see a resolution of the crisis,” Ushakov told reporters.
“Of course,” he went on, “the enormous prospects for future economic co-operation between the two countries were also discussed.”
In other words, Russia’s territorial demands, which include Ukraine relinquishing parts of the Donbas that Russia has not yet been able to conquer, remain key. There is nothing in Russia’s public pronouncements to date to suggest that these have changed in any way.
On the flip side, Putin continues to dangle the prospect of mutually attractive economic co-operation in front of Donald Trump’s commercially minded envoys, in the hope that the president’s mercenary instincts will distract him from pressuring Russia into reaching a less favourable deal.
The heavily pro-Russian 28-point plan leaked two weeks ago talked of long-term economic co-operation between the US and Russia, including “energy, natural resources, infrastructure, artificial intelligence, data centres, rare earth metal extraction projects in the Arctic, and other mutually beneficial corporate opportunities”.
Trump’s commercial interest in Russia goes back decades. Vladimir Putin knows this and his envoys are clearly playing to it.
Foreign ministers from Nato countries have just posed for their usual "family photo".
As a reminder of today's timings, up next is a working lunch between the Nato delegates and Ukrainian Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha and EU High Representative Kaja Kallas.
That will be followed by a news conference led by Nato chief Mark Rutte – expected at 15:30 local time (14:30 GMT).
While we've heard from several Nato countries and Russia about yesterday's peace talks in Moscow, the US hasn't yet shared its view on how the meeting with Russian officials in Moscow went.
This morning, US Secretary of State Marco Rubio is notably absent from the Nato meeting in Brussels, with his deputy, Christopher Landau, attending instead.
In an interview aired on Fox News last night, Rubio said the US is trying to work out what Ukraine and Russia will agree to – and said there's been "some progress, but we're not there yet".
Rubio criticised the "irrational" view that the US shouldn't engage with Moscow, adding: "You can't end a war between Russia and Ukraine without talking to Russia." He said it's "not realistic" to expect the US to "just continue to fund Ukraine unlimited amounts for as long as the war takes".
The secretary of state said that the final decision is up to Ukraine and Russia.
"At the end of the day, you know, it's not up to us. It's not our war. We're not fighting it."
Gabriela Pomeroy
Live reporter
US Deputy Secretary of State Christopher Landau (L) and Nato Secretary General Mark Rutte at the Brussels summit
Here are this morning's key developments:
Russia's Vladimir Putin met President Trump's envoy Steve Witkoff in Moscow on Tuesday, but the meeting ended with no breakthrough. However, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov says "it wouldn't be correct" to say the Russian president rejected US proposals for peace.
Meanwhile, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky says he's sending his officials to meet President Trump's team in the US.
The two Ukrainian envoys will also brief delegations at the Nato summit in Brussels today, where foreign ministers are meeting to discuss efforts to end the Ukraine war.
In another major development, the EU says it will stop importing Russian gas by autumn 2027.
We're expecting more updates at a Nato news conference led by Nato Secretary General Mark Rutte at 15:30 local time (14:30 GMT).
Before that, we'll continue to update you with the latest key lines. Stay with us.
As we've been reporting, both Ukraine and Russia have reported strikes overnight.
Ukraine's national police service has shared photos showing the aftermath of strikes in the Donetsk region – specifically in Kostyantynivka, Sloviansk, Oleksiyevo-Druzhkivka and Vodyanske.
The police say five residential buildings were destroyed in the attacks, with two people killed in the area.
Vitaliy Shevchenko
Russia editor, BBC Monitoring
As we've reported, the EU has reached a provisional agreement to phase out its remaining imports of Russian gas by 2027.
Phasing out Russian gas exports to Europe would mark an important milestone in stopping Western money from contributing to Vladimir Putin's war effort.
In the wake of the February 2022 invasion, Ukraine's allies imposed sanctions on Russian hydrocarbons. The US and UK banned Russian oil and gas, while the European Union (EU) banned Russian seaborne crude imports, but not gas.
As a result, since that time Russia has made €107bn, external (£94bn) by selling gas to the EU – that's more than half of Russia's total gas export revenue.
Proceeds made from selling oil and gas are key to keeping Russia's war machine going. Oil and gas account for almost a third of Russia's state revenue and more than 60% of its exports.
Russia has made billions from fossil fuel exports to the West, data shows, helping to finance its full-scale invasion of Ukraine
Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelensky says his delegation will prepare for a meeting with Trump's envoys in the US after foreign ministers meet in Brussels.
While in Brussels, the Ukrainian delegation – made up of National Security Secretary Rustem Umerov and Chief of the General Staff of the Armed Forces Andrii Hnatov – will brief their European counterparts on the Moscow talks and discuss the "necessary security architecture", Zelensky says.
"As always, Ukraine will work constructively in pursuit of a real peace," Zelensky writes on social media.Vitaliy Shevchenko
Russia editor, BBC Monitoring
Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov says that "it wouldn't be correct" to say that President Putin rejected US proposals for peace during talks with Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner yesterday.
Answering a question at a daily press briefing, Peskov says: "Yesterday was the first time that a direct exchange of opinions took place. Something was accepted, something was marked as unacceptable. This is a normal working process and a search for compromise."
Peskov also refused to disclose any details of the five-hour negotiations in the Kremlin: "There's an understanding that the more quiet surrounds these negotiations, the more productive they are. We'll stick to this principle and we're hoping that our American counterparts will, too."
Last week saw a string of media leaks suggesting that the Americans attempted to present a maximalist list of demands compiled by Russia as their own "peace plan", that the US has been involved in secret business talks with Russia, and that Witkoff advised the Russians on how to approach Donald Trump.
Nick Beake
Reporting from Brussels
Nato's foreign ministers are meeting in the comfort of the alliance’s HQ in Brussels far from the Ukrainian battlefield.
They’re also far from the ongoing US-led attempt to stop the fighting and make a peace deal.
That’s because President Trump and his team have been making overtures to Russia, not European allies.
Instead, Europe has been scrambling time and again to try to placate Trump whenever his sympathies have swung back in Moscow’s favour.
For all the military prowess of the European countries represented today, you could argue their lack of power and influence is reflected in the lack of any very senior US official in attendance at the meeting.
There is no Marco Rubio or Pete Hegseth, America’s secretary of state and secretary of defence respectively.
Despite the resolute language we’ve heard this morning, Europe is not united on how best to support and fund Ukraine – and it finds itself largely frozen out of the US’s thinking.
Nato foreign ministers – including those from Turkey, Finland, Spain and Slovenia, as pictured above – are meeting in Brussels
As we've been reporting, Nato foreign ministers are in Brussels to discuss the ongoing talks to end the war in Ukraine.
Ahead of their meeting, German Foreign Minister Johann Wadephul said he welcomed "all talks" aimed at ending the war, but saw "no serious willingness on the Russian side to enter into negotiations".
Also reflecting on the overnight US-Russia talks, Estonian Foreign Minister Margus Tsahkna said Europe must decide what will happen in the continent, adding: "Putin cannot decide over us […] the US cannot make decisions instead of us."
His Latvian counterpart, Baiba Braze, warned that "Russia is trying to split Nato" through what she described as "so-called peace talks".
Finland's Elina Valtonen pushed back on Putin's earlier comments that his country did not want conflict with Europe but was "ready" for war, saying Russia was using this "rhetoric" to "intimidate us".
The UK's Foreign Secretary, Yvette Cooper, called on the Russian president to "end the bluster and bloodshed", while Norway's Espen Barth Eide said Ukraine "needs to stay strong" and Nato needs to "stay committed".
Joel Gunter
Reporting from Kyiv
The Ukrainian opposition MP Oleksiy Goncharenko told me this morning that Ukraine was “not in the best position” in negotiations over an end to the war and would need to accept tough compromises to secure a much needed peace.
He pointed out that the US had stopped the de-facto free military support Ukraine benefited from under the Biden administration, and while the EU was “more supportive politically” it was “unable to come to a decision on frozen assets”, he said.
Goncharenko, a frequent critic of President Volodymyr Zelensky, was referring to the roughly $300bn in Russian assets frozen by Europe, which Ukraine has pushed to be released to fund its war effort.
There were red lines for Ukraine though, Goncharenko said – above all the country should refuse to cede any additional territory in eastern Ukraine that Russia had not yet captured.
“They want to take in negotiations what they have failed to take during 12 years of war,” he said. “This is not acceptable.”
Another red line was security guarantees, according to Goncharenko. A pathway to Nato membership was “the best guarantee possible”, he said, “but if the US is not ready for this, we cannot do anything about it. We cannot make them accept it".
EU Commission President Ursula von der Leyen calls it "the dawn of a new era"
The European Council and the European Parliament have reached a provisional agreement to phase out imports of Russian gas by 2027.
"This is the dawn of a new era, the era of Europe's full energy independence from Russia," says EU Commission President Ursula von der Leyen.
Von der Leyen says that Russian gas imports or LNG and pipeline are "down from 45% at the beginning of the war to 13". Coal imports are down from 51% at the beginning of the war to now zero, she adds, and crude oil imports are down from 26% to 2%.
The European Council said the aim is to end dependence on Russian energy supplies "after Russia weaponised gas supplies, which had a significant impact on the European energy market".
In May, the European Commission published its "roadmap" outlining its plans to end Europe's reliance on Russian energy, after which Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov told Reuters news agency that Europe was "shooting itself in the foot".
Russia has made billions from fossil fuel exports to the West, data shows, helping to finance its full-scale invasion of Ukraine
Will Vernon
BBC News
The late-night discussions in the Kremlin between President Putin and Donald Trump’s envoy Steve Witkoff lasted for five hours but failed to achieve any tangible results.
But they could claim to be the longest talks between the two men since Steve Witkoff began meeting Putin – this was his sixth visit to Russia this year.
In February 2025, Witkoff and Putin met for three and a half hours, according to the US envoy.
In March, the Russian President reportedly kept the American waiting for eight hours. It wasn’t clear how long the talks lasted, but they were rumoured to be short.
Their third meeting, in the city of St Petersburg on 11 April, lasted four-and-a-half hours. The two men spoke again in the Kremlin for three hours on 25 April.
Another meeting on 6 August went on for just under three hours, according to Russian media.
As UK Foreign Secretary Yvette Cooper arrived in Brussels earlier, she announced an additional £10m to support energy infrastructure in Ukraine.
"We will continue to work to switch the lights back on," she told reporters. It comes after Russian strikes caused power outages for more than 600,000 Ukrainians over the weekend.
Cooper said Putin was seeking to escalate the war, and she added that the UK was in Brussels to "affirm our strong support for the people of Ukraine and for the process to secure a just and lasting peace for Ukraine".
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