Volodymyr Zelenskyy is in Saudi Arabia for his team to hold talks with US officials. Meanwhile, Moscow expels two British diplomats and accuses the UK of being the “main instigator” of global conflict – while a Trump envoy’s claim over intel sharing is contradicted by a Ukrainian source.
Monday 10 March 2025 21:00, UK
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Thank you for following our updates on the war in Ukraine today.
We’re pausing our live coverage for now.
Before we go, here’s a summary of the key developments over the past 24 hours:
Moldova is facing increasingly blatant Russian attempts aiming at destabilising the country, Emmanuel Macron has said.
The French president has been meeting his Moldovan counterpart, Maia Sandu, whose country shares a border with Ukraine and wants to join the European Union by 2030,
“Moldova, whose airspace is regularly violated by Russian drones and missiles, also has to contend with increasingly uninhibited Russian attempts at destabilisation, targeting your country’s democratic institutions in particular,” he said during a news conference in Paris.
Three people were killed and nine others wounded in a Ukrainian strike on a shopping centre in Russia’s Kursk region, the region’s governor has said.
Alexander Khinshtein said the attack hit the village of Belaya, located in the Belovsky district.
Citing preliminary data, he said the wounded, including four children aged 13-14, had been transported to a local hospital.
Russian forces advanced further in Kursk region on Monday and curled behind Ukrainian forces as part of a major encirclement operation aimed at forcing thousands of Ukrainian soldiers to either flee or surrender in western Russia.
Volodymyr Zelenskyy has apologised to Donald Trump over the extraordinary Oval Office row between the two, the US president’s Middle East envoy has said.
“Zelenskyy sent a letter to the president,” Steve Witkoff told Fox News today.
“He apologised for that whole incident that happened in the Oval Office.
“I think that it was an important step and there’s been a lot of discussion between our teams and the Ukrainians and the Europeans who are relevant to this discussion as well.”
Witkoff said he thought a letter apologising over the explosive meeting was “progress”.
Zelesnkyy had previously described the row as “regrettable”, but has stopped short of apologising.
Military officials from more than 30 countries will take part in talks on the creation of an international security force for Ukraine, a French military official has said.
Such an international force would aim to dissuade Russia from launching another offensive after any ceasefire in Ukraine comes into effect.
The long list of participants in tomorrow’s discussions in Paris will also include Asian and Oceania nations that will join remotely, the French official said.
The international makeup of the meeting offers an indication of how broadly France and the UK – which are working together on plans for the force – are casting their net as they aim to build what the French official described as a coalition of nations “able and willing” to be part of an effort to safeguard Ukraine in the event of a ceasefire.
The French military official spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss the blueprint for the force that is shrouded in secrecy and the Paris talks that will consider it.
The force being envisaged by France and Britain would aim to reassure Ukraine and deter another large-scale Russian offensive after any ceasefire, the official said. It could include heavy weaponry and weapons stockpiles that could be rushed within hours or days to aid in Ukraine’s defence in the event of a Russian attack that breaks any truce, the official said.
The French-British blueprint will be presented to military officials from more than 30 nations in the first part of the talks, the official said.
The talks’ second part will include “more precise and concrete” discussions where the participants will be invited to say whether and how their militaries might be able to contribute, the official said.
“It’s not, ‘This is what we need,”‘ the official said. “It’s more, ‘What are you bringing to the pot?”‘
The official stressed, however, that the ultimate decision on whether nations take part in the force would be taken at a political level, by government leaders.
Army chiefs or their representatives from nearly all the 32 nations of the NATO military alliance will attend the Paris talks – with the notable exception being the US.
The official said the US wasn’t invited because European nations wanted to demonstrate they can take responsibility for a large part of the post-ceasefire security framework for Ukraine.
Ukraine’s president Volodymyr Zeleknskyy, who is currently in Saudi Arabia, has shared a message on social media, thanking European allies for their support.
In the message, shared on X, he wrote: “New defence packages, strengthened air defence, and even more investments in our defence industry.
“Over the past few weeks, European countries have made dozens of decisions to increase support for Ukraine.
“Strong positions on the frontline and strong diplomacy must work together to achieve a just and lasting peace. Under US leadership and in cooperation with all of Europe, this is absolutely achievable. Peace is our shared goal.
“We are grateful to all partners who, together with Ukraine, bring peace closer for all our people every day.”
by Alex Rossi, international correspondent
This is a significant moment for Saudi Arabia as it emerges as a key broker in the high-stakes international diplomacy over the future of Ukraine.
At the centre of all this is the de-facto ruler of the kingdom, Crown Prince Mohammed Bin Salman, who’s known simply as MBS.
Since his rise to power in 2017, he’s implemented sweeping reforms, putting Saudi on the map as a major global player.
He’s now one of the most influential figures in the Middle East and the fact he’s hosting ceasefire talks is a reflection of that status.
MBS will press the flesh first with the Ukrainian President, Volodymyr Zelenskyy.
The pair will discuss strengthening diplomatic relations – they will also talk about the mediation role the Kingdom will play as it facilitates the peace negotiations between Ukraine and Russia.
This meeting was already planned, but what the world will be watching is the ceasefire talks that follow.
The negotiations come after one of the most acrimonious diplomatic spats in modern history that saw Donald Trump and his vice president JD Vance go toe to toe with Zelenskyy in a horrendous confrontation in front of the world’s media in the Oval Office.
The West, or whatever you call it now after Trump’s apparent realignment with Russia, is hoping the talks in Saudi Arabia will help mend fences and restore fully US intelligence sharing with Ukraine – which was cancelled after the fallout.
Ukraine says the withdrawal of American support on that front is already having devastating consequences.
The US will want to see, that from its perspective, Ukraine is serious about doing a deal before it rows back.
In code, this means they will want the Ukrainians to acknowledge that they will have to make serious concessions in many areas, including losing territory.
However, these talks are only taking place at a low level – Zelensky will not be present.
He is leaving Saudi Arabia after his bilateral with MBS.
They may though give us a clearer picture of what a ceasefire will eventually look like and whether one is even possible.
Having strong ties to both the United States and Russia (unlike NATO aligned countries it is not directly involved in sanctions against Russia) it is an acceptable venue to all sides.
For Saudi Arabia whatever the outcome hosting the talks is a big win.
See our 11.04am post for more on Saudi Arabia’s role
A senior Ukrainian adviser has reportedly blamed the White House for Russia’s rapid advances in Kursk over the weekend.
The official, speaking anonymously to The Times, said Donald Trump’s decision to suspend intelligence sharing with Kyiv was behind the losses.
“Ukraine can only hold Kursk because it has been able to keep Russian troops away from the line of contact,” the adviser said.
“That could only be done with good intelligence in the area.”
The official said Ukraine would not be able to hold its position unless US support resumed.
His comments came before both Donald Trump’s Middle East envoy Steve Witkoff and US secretary of state Marco Rubio insisted the US was continuing to share information necessary for Ukrainian defence (see 16.46 post).
A source in Ukraine told Sky News today that it was not receiving intelligence on the preparation of missile strikes into its territory by Russia (see 14.11 post).
Ukraine’s military has said it has hit Russian oil refineries in two regions over the last two days.
In a Facebook post, Ukraine’s general staff said the strikes targeted a refinery in the Ryazan region and the Novokuibyshev refinery in the Samara region.
Both facilities supplied fuel for the Russian army, it said.
“The Ryazan Refinery produced an average of 840,000 tons of high-grade fuel for jet engines,” the statement said, adding the fuel had been used by Russian warplanes attacking Ukraine.
The statement said fuel from the Novokuibyshev refinery was piped and brought via rail to Russia’s armed forces in northern Ukraine.
A little more now from US secretary of state Marco Rubio as he speaks to journalists on his military plane on the way to talks in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia.
He is asked about the extraordinary Oval Office clash between Donald Trump and Volodymyr Zelenskyy at the end of last month.
“Well it wasn’t the way it was supposed to go,” he says.
“We had these conversations with them coming in. We explained to them our position. We really wanted to get negotiations.
“We felt, I felt, I was actually shocked as it was happening, because it went the total opposite of everything we had talked about ahead of time.
“I couldn’t believe what I was seeing. I was like – this can’t be real, but it was. But we have to move on.”
Watch the Oval Office argument in full below:
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