The leaders of more than 30 nations meet in Paris to progress with plans on security guarantees for Ukraine after a peace deal with Russia is signed. Meanwhile, Moscow says it is preparing for a visit from North Korean leader Kim Jong Un this year. Follow the latest here.
Thursday 27 March 2025 11:30, UK
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Live updates by Narbeh Minassian and Ollie Cooper
The French presidency has said Emmanuel Macron spoke with Donald Trump ahead of today’s summit in Paris.
The US has been noticeably absent from the “coalition of the willing” – see our 8.13am post for more on that – which is meeting today to discuss plans for any ceasefire.
There isn’t any information on the contents of that call, but Macron has spoken about the need to strengthen support for Ukraine.
When the pair met last month at the White House, they were all handshakes and smiles as they spoke to the media in the Oval Office.
France and the UK are “hatching plans for military intervention in Ukraine” under the guise of a peacekeeping mission, Russia’s foreign ministry spokeswoman has warned.
Maria Zakharova added such an intervention could lead to a direct conflict between her country and NATO.
France and the UK are among the leaders of the so-called “coalition of the willing” meeting in Paris today to discuss European plans for a potential ceasefire.
That could involve European troops in Ukraine – something Moscow has described as unacceptable.
“Our country stands categorically against this scenario, which risks a direct confrontation between Russia and NATO,” Zakharova said in a briefing.
In comments carried by state news agency TASS, she added the UK wanted to provoke the EU into a “bloodbath” with Russia.
Their “golden dream”, she said, is to push European countries together and join the “Anglo-Saxon coalition”.
European defence union ‘matter of time’
Zakharova spoke just as Germany’s foreign minister talked up the need for a European defence union.
Speaking at the Europe 2025 conference on European sovereignty, Annalena Baerbock said: “If we continue to use 150 different weapon systems in Europe and they are not compatible with each other, then we can spend all of the world’s money on them – we will not be able to be effective enough, which is why I believe that the European defence union is no longer a question of whether, but how quickly we get it off the ground.”
By Ivor Bennett, Moscow correspondent
This is a hugely significant moment. For the first time in more than three years, Washington is lifting sanctions on Moscow instead of imposing them.
It’s the most tangible evidence yet of a US-Russia rapprochement, and a crystal clear signal of Donald Trump’s intentions to turn Vladimir Putin the pariah into Putin the partner.
Find out more by reading Ivor’s full analysis here.
We’re getting our first updates now from Paris.
Just ahead of the summit, Downing Street said Sir Keir Starmer met with NATO chief Mark Rutte.
Here’s what a spokesperson has just said about their meeting:
“The prime minister met NATO secretary general Mark Rutte in Paris this morning, ahead of the coalition of the willing meeting.
“They discussed their enduring support for Ukraine, agreeing that Europe must do everything possible to keep them in the fight and keep up the pressure on Putin.
“Both acknowledged the vital role of the United States in forging a path towards a ceasefire agreement, and reiterated that Europe stands ready to support a durable and lasting peace when it comes.
“The prime minister restated his unwavering commitment to NATO as the cornerstone of our security.”
These images show many of the leaders and delegations from the “coalition of the willing” arriving for a crunch meeting in Paris.
Scroll through to see who’s there…
Europe correspondent Adam Parsons says today’s talks will be focused on three things:
Russia’s FSB security service claims Ukraine is recruiting its citizens for undercover work by posing as staff of US non-profit thinktank RAND Corp.
“The FSB has received information about representatives of the Ukrainian special services using the cover of the influential American RAND Corporation for recruiting activities in the territory of the Russian Federation and obtaining limited information about the Russian Federation’s special military operation in Ukraine,” state news outlet RIA said.
RAND is already banned in Russia as an “undesirable organisation”.
Russian state media is reporting that Moscow has returned five children to Ukraine after Qatari mediation.
We’ve had no confirmation from the Ukrainian side.
Qatar has acted as a broker between Russia and Ukraine on the return of children who have been separated from their families during the three-year war.
The issue is one that Ukraine has been keen to point out to the US as Donald Trump attempts to broker a peace deal between Kyiv and Moscow.
You can read some of our reporting from earlier in the war regarding Ukraine’s missing children here…
Sir Keir Starmer, Emmanuel Macron and Volodymyr Zelenskyy have sat down in the Elysee Palace for a short meeting before wider talks take place later.
Starmer and Macron are co-hosting today’s “coalition of the willing” meeting.
Delegations and leaders from 31 countries will take part in wider talks a bit later.
World leaders have been steadily streaming into the Ukraine summit in Paris.
Sir Keir Starmer was one of the last to pull up at the Elysee Palace, where German Chancellor Olaf Scholz, NATO chief Mark Rutte and Volodymyr Zelenskyy are waiting.
Emmanuel Macron greeted each arrival, and they’re now behind closed doors for the first set of meetings today.
Europe correspondent Adam Parsons is outside the Elysee Palace, watching on as world leaders convene for a “coalition of the willing” meeting hosted by Emmanuel Macron.
“These are significant talks I think, for a number of reasons,” he explains.
First, he says, “you simply don’t get that amount of political and diplomatic leaders in one place very often, and that is because minds are being focused”.
He adds that, with Turkish, NATO and Ukrainian presence, it isn’t a “EU plus UK leaders” meeting.
“This is about a wider community – this ‘coalition of the willing’ as they are calling it – who believe that they have skin in the game in creating peace in Ukraine and then maintaining it.”
He adds the lack of US presence is notable, though Macron has indicated that the results of these talks will be passed on to the Trump administration.
Parsons says today’s talks will be focused on three things:
The third, he says, will be key.
“Macron yesterday said that the options range from satellite technology monitoring the border all the way through to what he called a force with a European mandate – raising the spectre of European soldiers on the ground,” he says.
That in turn begs the question: how would they respond to an attack by Russian forces on the frontline?
“The main thing they will want to show is that they stand still squarely behind Ukraine.”
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