The US has backed plans by a coalition of Ukrainian allies to provide binding security guarantees to Ukraine in the event of a ceasefire. Keir Starmer has pledged British boots on the ground as part of post-war peacekeeping efforts. Follow the latest below.
Wednesday 7 January 2026 15:27, UK
That’s all for now, but we will be back with any significant developments.
In the meantime, you may have some interest in goings-on elsewhere, with Donald Trump again at the centre of major geopolitical developments – namely around Venezuela.
The US has announced the seizure of an oil tanker linked to Russia. That’s a moving story, and you can keep up with the latest in the link below.
While it doesn’t directly involve Ukraine, diplomatic ripples may have some impact on the state of peace talks for Kyiv.
By Michael Drummond, foreign news reporter
As we’ve been reporting, the UK and France have pledged to deploy peacekeeping troops in Ukraine in the event of a ceasefire.
It’s the clearest sign yet of a “coalition of the willing” for Kyiv – something that’s been in discussion over the last year.
So far, only the UK and France have pledged peacekeeping troops.
Both have powerful militaries and the two nations are also the only countries in Europe with nuclear weapons.
Other countries have suggested they could deploy troops to Ukraine, while others have said they definitely won’t.
So, who’s in, and who’s out? Tap below to find out…
Yesterday, we had our military analyst Michael Clarke in the studio, answering your questions mainly on issues away from Ukraine.
But with the state of global geopolitics hinging so heavily on the outcome of the war, the conversation did inevitably come back to Ukraine briefly.
Specifically, Vladimir Putin.
That’s because, in Clarke’s view, the US military operation in Venezuela and the subsequent threats made by Donald Trump about annexing Greenland have handed “another victory” to the Russian leader.
Clarke said the only way to handle the situation about Greenland is “diplomatically… between friends and allies”.
“[Denmark] doesn’t want the temperature to rise, because if it came to a confrontation, of course, Denmark and Greenland would lose, very, very badly,” he adds.
“If the United States really wanted to send troops into Greenland without the permission of the Greenlanders, there’s almost nothing that the Greenlanders could do about it.”
With the disunity in the West right now, Clarke said: “The person who’s gaining most in this is President Putin. I mean, this is yet another victory for him.”
Catch up on his full insight on the state of international diplomacy below…
A few updates to bring you from Volodymyr Zelenskyy now.
He’s just said he hopes to meet Donald Trump again and soon, possibly back in Washington.
While progress appears to have been made in peace talks – at least according to US and European statements – he said he’s still not clear on what the response would be to continued Russian aggression.
He said he sees the political will from his allies, but these need to be backed up by obligations.
And, in the meantime, the US should keep pressure on Russia – a message he has repeatedly conveyed.
Earlier, we reported how Keir Starmer had committed to deploying peacekeeping troops to Ukraine in the event of a ceasefire.
Now, the prime minister says such a deployment would get a vote in Commons
“I will keep the House updated as the situation develops,” Starmer told MPs.
“And were troops to be deployed under the declaration signed, I would put that matter to the House for a vote.”
Ukrainian drones attacked an oil depot in Belgorod overnight, starting a fire, according to Kyiv.
Several oil storage tanks were set ablaze in the Starooskolsky district, about 44 miles from the border with Ukraine, said Belgorod governor Vyacheslav Gladkov
Firefighters have now put out a fire, Russia’s Vesti state TV channel reported.
The attack is the latest in Ukraine’s campaign to degrade Russian energy infrastructure and reduce Moscow’s ability to finance its war machine.
Ukraine and the US will return to bilateral negotiations within days, according to Volodymyr Zelenskyy.
He says the “most difficult issues” will be discussed – namely territory and control of the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant.
The power plant has been seized by Russian forces, causing alarm for international regulators.
Kyiv’s chief negotiator Rustem Umerov will also discuss holding a potential meeting between Zelenskyy, Donald Trump and European leaders.
“Ukraine does not hide from the most difficult issues and will never be an obstacle to peace,” Zelenskyy says.
“Peace must be dignified. And it depends on the partners – whether they will ensure Russia’s real readiness to end the war.”
While international attention has been drawn to high-level diplomatic talks, Russian drones continue to rain down on Ukraine.
The city of Dnipro came under attack last night in what the regional military chief called a “large-scale” drone attack.
Emergency services reported that seven people were injured, including two children.
Vladyslav Haivanenko, acting head of the Dnipropetrovsk Oblast Military Administration, said a 16-year-old girl had been taken to hospital.
Several fires broke out in the city, local authorities said.
Apartment buildings and private houses, administrative buildings, cars and a gas pipeline were damaged.
The US has for the first time backed plans by a coalition of Ukrainian allies to provide binding security guarantees to Ukraine in the event of a ceasefire.
Keir Starmer has pledged British boots on the ground as part of post-war peacekeeping efforts, in order to train Ukrainian troops and protect stocks of weaponry.
The agreement was made at a coalition of the willing summit in Paris between 35 nations, including mainly European countries as well as the likes of Canada, New Zealand, Australia and Japan.
Among them was US envoy Steve Witkoff, who said after the summit that Donald Trump “strongly stands behind security protocols”, which are meant to deter another Russian invasion.
“If there are any attacks, they’re meant to defend and they will do both. They are as strong as anyone has ever seen,” he said.
Trump’s son-in-law Jared Kushner, who was also at the meeting, said that if Ukrainians were to make a final deal, “they have to know that after a deal they are secure, they have, obviously, a robust deterrence, and there [are] real backstops to make sure that this will not happen again”.
Allies, led by the US, would monitor the ceasefire with drones, sensors and satellites.
But the specific statement, the Paris Declaration, was not explicitly endorsed by the US and details of Washington’s role were watered down from an earlier draft.
This was in stark contrast to the leaders of the UK and France, who signed a declaration of intent on the future deployment of forces on the ground, in the air and at sea, as part of a wider European-led multinational force.
Welcome back to our live coverage of the war in Ukraine.
We’ll be bringing you all the latest updates throughout the day – but before we begin, here is a recap of the key developments over the last 24 hours.
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