In his latest attempt to edge towards a ceasefire, Donald Trump will call Vladimir Putin and Volodymyr Zelenskyy today. He’s hopeful of a productive day, but there are fears in Kyiv over what the outcome could be. Follow the latest below.
Monday 19 May 2025 09:29, UK
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Countries in the EU have agreed on plans for a €150bn (£126bn) fund to boost Europe’s defence, a diplomat has said this morning.
Known as Security Action for Europe – or SAFE – the fund will be financed through joint borrowing and give loans to EU members and certain other states, such as Ukraine.
JD Vance and Pope Leo met this morning, ahead of a flurry of US-led diplomacy over Ukraine.
The US vice president was in Rome after attending the new Pope’s inaugural mass yesterday, with his motorcade seen entering Vatican City at about 6.30am today (UK time).
Joining Vance at the Vatican was Washington’s top diplomat Marco Rubio, the vice president’s spokesperson Luke Schroeder said.
The Pope criticised Vance in a social media post earlier this year. In early February, he shared an article from a Catholic publication with the headline, ‘JD Vance is wrong: Jesus doesn’t ask us to rank our love for others’.
The Vatican, which was largely sidelined during the first three years of Russia’s war, has offered to host peace talks.
After greeting Leo briefly at the end of yesterday’s mass, Vance spent the rest of the day in meetings with Volodymyr Zelenskyy and EU Commission President Ursula von der Leyen.
Last night, Sir Keir Starmer spoke to Donald Trump about the upcoming call with Vladimir Putin.
According to his office, the UK prime minister was joined by the leaders of France, Italy and Germany.
A spokeswoman said the group had “discussed the need for an unconditional ceasefire and for President Putin to take peace talks seriously”.
“They also discussed the use of sanctions if Russia failed to engage seriously in a ceasefire and peace talks,” she added.
French leader Emmanuel Macron has repeated European calls for Russia to agree to a 30-day halt in fighting.
That pause should be unconditional, he added, as proposed by Donald Trump, who speaks to Putin later today over the phone.
Until there is a diplomatic breakthrough – and Donald Trump will hope to at least get closer to one when he speaks to Vladimir Putin later today – fighting will continue along the frontline.
Scroll through the maps below to view different parts of the battlefield, including the situation in key regions such as Luhansk, Donetsk, Kursk and Belgorod.
Nicusor Dan’s victory in the Romanian presidential election last night came as a surprise to observers.
Hard-right populist George Simion was the favourite, with fears over his outspoken opposition to military aid for Ukraine and criticism of EU leadership.
But Dan’s “historic victory” is, instead, good news for Kyiv – and has been welcomed by Volodymyr Zelenskyy.
“For Ukraine – as a neighbour and friend – it is important to have Romania as a reliable partner,” he said on social media.
“And we are confident we will. By working together, we can strengthen both our countries and our Europe.”
Russian state news agencies are reporting more drone attacks by Ukraine on areas of Russia.
According to their reports, Russia’s defence units destroyed 35 Ukrainian drones overnight, citing the defence ministry.
RIA Novosti said 26 of them were shot down over Crimea – the Ukrainian peninsula illegally annexed by Russia in 2014 – with another eight over Bryansk and one over Belgorod.
It’s not clear if other drones were launched.
Peace talks are on the road to a “carve-up” of Ukraine.
That’s the view of our military analyst Michael Clarke, who said Kyiv is being forced to make the best of “an untenable position”.
Trump and Putin are due to speak today, and Ukraine fears any so-called peace deal created by the pair will really be a “suicide deal, take it or leave it”.
“In that case, they will probably leave it. The war will go on, the Americans will pull away and things will get very difficult indeed for them,” said Clarke.
“The idea of negotiations between two countries, one of whom is not there, is ridiculous.”
He added: “It’s what is known in diplomacy as a carve-up.
“Hasn’t arrived at that yet, it may not get to that, but that is the road we’re on. That’s where we’re heading.”
He predicted the phone call between the two leaders would see them discuss a summit.
Putin wants a summit quickly to “emerge from his pariah status” – but the sooner he’s brought to one, the more pressure he’ll be under to agree to a ceasefire.
“He will be trying to manipulate both the date and the modalities of any summit that he has with Trump to give him the maximum elbow room to keep on fighting.”
It’s another big day in the diplomatic sphere.
Donald Trump is expected to speak to both Vladimir Putin and Volodymyr Zelenskyy over the phone, hoping to finally make progress towards a ceasefire.
In social media posts over the weekend, Trump said he’s optimistic for a “productive day” today – with NATO leaders also set for calls – but he has not got near fulfilling his pre-election promise to end the war quickly.
And there are fears Trump’s affinity for Putin could put Kyiv at a disadvantage.
Trump’s envoy, Steve Witkoff, said the call will “clear up some of the logjam” and “get us to the place that we need to get to”.
“I think it’s going to be a very successful call,” he added.
Welcome back to our live coverage of the war in Ukraine. We begin each week by zooming out to give you an overview of the key movements in the war over the last seven days.
Peace talks
Russia and Ukraine met in Turkey on Friday for their first direct talks since 2022 – but little of substance was agreed.
Moscow has been viewed by experts as dragging its feet, giving just enough in negotiations to please Donald Trump while avoiding an actual settlement so they can attempt to take more Ukrainian land by force.
The discussions lasted less than two hours, and Russia sent only a low-level delegation.
Vladimir Putin declined a challenge from Volodymyr Zelenskyy to meet in person.
His team made demands Ukraine could never accept, including international recognition of five parts of Ukraine as Russian territory: Donetsk, Zaporizhzhia, Kherson, Luhansk and Crimea.
A source in the Ukrainian team told Sky News Russia had threatened “eternal war”, should Ukraine not capitulate.
The only agreement of note was to exchange 1,000 prisoners of war each.
Ukrainian intelligence services have begun preparing for the swap with hopes it will take place this week.
Trump calls
Donald Trump is set to speak with Putin and then Zelenskyy over the phone today.
Sky’s defence and security analyst Professor Michael Clarke believes Trump and Putin’s call will focus on organising a summit.
Kyiv’s fear is that conversations between the two leaders will lead to a deal being done over its head.
“The idea of negotiations between two countries, one of whom is not there, is ridiculous.”
He continues: “It’s what is known in diplomacy as a carve-up.
“Hasn’t arrived at that yet, it may not get to that, but that is the road we’re on. That’s where we’re heading.”
On the battlefield
Over the weekend, Russia launched what Ukraine called the heaviest drone attack since the start of the war
A total of 273 exploding drones were reportedly fired across the Kyiv, Dnipropetrovsk and Donetsk regions between Saturday night and Sunday morning.
Another Russian drone attack hit a bus evacuating civilians from the frontline on Saturday, killing nine and injuring seven.
Russia has been pushing hard across most of the frontline, with attempts at an advance expected in central Donetsk.
British military intelligence assesses they have made 5km of progress there over the past month, and the Institute for the Study of War believes Moscow will choose between the cities of Kostyantynivka and Pokrovsk in its next push.
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