Donald Trump Meets With Nato Chief On Ukraine
BBC News
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Donald Trump says he is "very, very unhappy" with Russia and "disappointed" in President Vladimir Putin
The US president says he will introduce "very severe" secondary tariffs of 100% if no ceasefire deal is reached with Ukraine within 50 days
He is meeting Nato Secretary General Mark Rutte in the White House – you can watch live above
Ukrainians are tentatively welcoming reports of US arms shipments, but they're also wary, writes our correspondent in Kyiv
Meanwhile, Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelensky says he has had "productive" talks with the US envoy to Ukraine, Keith Kellogg, in Kyiv today
In Russia, Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov says it's "very important" talks over Ukraine continue
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Trump to supply Ukraine with Patriot missile defence systems
Edited by Jack Burgess in London and Brandon Livesay in New York, with Charlotte Gallagher in Kyiv and Vitaliy Shevchenko
Nato's chief continues by saying it means Ukraine can get its hands on "really massive numbers of military equipment" for air defence, missiles and ammunitions.
Mark Rutte adds that it's great news for Ukraine, thanking President Trump.
Trump hands over to Nato Secretary General Mark Rutte, who says "this is really big".
The Nato chief says Trump has made a decision for Ukraine to be able to maintain its defences against Russia, and adds that Europeans will pay for it. Trump says this "is totally logical".
Rutte says this builds on the tremendous success of the Nato summit, adding that the Europeans are "stepping up".
Trump says the distribution of the weapons to Ukraine will be co-ordinated by Nato.
"We're going to make top-of-the-line weapons" and send them to Nato, the US president says.
Nato will then send them where they are needed, he adds.
Trump says he wants to see the war in Ukraine end, adding that he's "disappointed" with Russia's President Vladimir Putin.
The US president says the US makes the best equipment, the best missiles and "the best everything".
He says they will be sending the weapons to Nato, and adds that "they will be paying for them".
The US president goes on to say he is "very unhappy" with Russia over the war in Ukraine.
"We're going to be doing very severe tariffs if we don't have a deal in 50 days," he says.
He calls them secondary tariffs and says they will be 100%.
After a delay to the start, Nato Secretary General Mark Rutte's meeting with Donald Trump has just begun in the White House Oval Office.
Vice President JD Vance and Secretary of State Marco Rubio are there too. Trump starts by saying it's an honour to have Rutte here.
Stick with us and we'll bring you any updates as soon as we get them.
You can watch the meeting live at the top of this page.
Paul Adams
Diplomatic correspondent
If President Trump hates one thing above all, it’s the notion that the USA is being ripped off.
It’s a perception that’s long informed his attitude to the war in Ukraine. In the president’s view, there’s no reason why Washington should help to protect Ukraine without being properly compensated.
That’s why today’s anticipated announcement is significant.
Not just because it marks the first time since returning to office that Trump will have made fresh US weapons available. But because, thanks to months of tortuous negotiations, the US will sell weapons to fellow Nato members who will then make them available to Kyiv.
Ukraine will get the weapons. The US will make money. Everyone is happy.
“We’re sending weapons to Nato and Nato is paying for those weapons, 100%,” the president told NBC News last week.
Strictly speaking, it’s not Nato itself which is buying the weapons or making them available, but Nato members.
At the same time, Ukraine’s President Zelensky says his officials are discussing a range of joint projects with European partners which will see direct investment in Ukraine’s growing defence industry, as well as weapons production at sites outside Ukraine.
Sakshi Venkatraman
Reporting from New York
Senator Lindsey Graham pictured speaking to the media last month
As Trump ramped up his criticism of the Kremlin in recent days, a sweeping Russia sanctions bill has been gaining steam in the Senate.
In April, senators Lindsey Graham and Richard Blumenthal led 50 senators in introducing a bipartisan bill to pressure Putin to engage in peace talks.
The bill would introduce sanctions against Russia if the country refused to engage in negotiations with Ukraine or takes military action that undermines Ukraine's sovereignty.
It would also impose a 500% tariff on imported goods from countries that buy Russian products like oil and uranium.
“The dominating view in the United States Senate is that Russia is the aggressor, and that this horrific war and Putin’s aggression must end now and be deterred in the future," Graham said in a press release.
“We share President Trump’s frustration with Russia when it comes to obtaining a ceasefire, and support President Trump’s desire to achieve a lasting, just and honourable peace," he added.
We are just waiting to hear from US President Donald Trump and Nato Secretary General Mark Rutte.
Their bilateral meeting in the White House is expected to start shortly.
Stick with us and we'll bring you the latest updates. You'll be able to follow it by pressing the watch live button at the top of this page.
Bernd Debusmann Jr
White House reporter
Nato Chief Mark Rutte (L) in the Oval Office with the US president in March
Today's visit to the White House isn't Nato Secretary General's Mark Rutte's first trip to 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue.
He last came on 13 March, under remarkably different circumstances. That meeting, which came just weeks after Ukrainian President Volodomyr Zelensky's infamous Oval Office meeting, came at a time in which Trump and the White House continued to insist that a ceasefire was perhaps just around the corner.
In an interview with Bloomberg shortly afterwards, Rutte called it "very positive" and said he felt there was an "absolutely clear commitment" towards the Nato alliance from Trump.
"I think good things are going to happen," Trump told reporters in the room. "I really do".
While he called the possibility of a 30-day ceasefire a "very smart plan", Rutte was also more cautious in his language.
"We are absolutely not there yet," he said.
As we've been reporting, today's meeting also comes after Nato member states committed to raise their defence spending to 5% of GDP, which is something Trump has long called for.
In a new post of his Truth Social social media platform, President Trump says the US has been "ripped off" on trade and military spending for decades, claiming it has cost the country trillions of dollars.
"Countries should sit back and say: thank you for the many-years-long free ride, but we know you now have to do what’s right for America. We should respond by saying: thank you for understanding the situation we are in. Greatly appreciated!" he wrote.
Since he took office, Trump has been putting pressure on US allies to up their spending, specifically on defence.
Much of his criticism has been focused on Nato member states, of which the US has historically ranked among the highest in terms of military spending.
In response, Nato's 32 members have agreed to spend 5% of GDP on defence and security by 2035.
Four people have been killed by Russian strikes in Sumy, which borders Russia in north-eastern Ukraine, the region's administrator says.
"The number of injured people as a result of an enemy UAV [unmanned aerial vehicle] strike on a medical facility in Sumy has increased to four", Oleg Grigorov says on social media.
Earlier on today, the Ukrainian state emergency service said two people had been killed and four more injured by Russian strikes on the region.
Pictures released by the emergency service show firefighters tackling burning buildings in the area.
As we've been reporting, we’re expecting a “major” statement from Donald Trump later today, which could well be about the war in Ukraine.
But if you've just joined us, or are in need of a quick catch-up, here's the latest:
We've got a little more detail from Ukrainian President Zelensky's meeting today with the US envoy to Ukraine, Keith Kellogg.
In a statement, the Ukrainian president's office says the pair have been discussing the prospect of a ceasefire, as well as the purchase of weapons to defend Ukraine.
It describes how the meeting "also focused on the overall front-line situation" as well as "the needs of Ukrainian warriors", for whom Kellogg expressed his respect.
The statement also says after Trump suggested the US would be sending Patriot missile defence systems to Ukraine, Zelensky "confirmed Ukraine’s readiness to purchase American weapons, particularly air defence systems".
"The parties also discussed joint drone production, the possibility of direct purchases of Ukrainian UAVs by the United States, and the potential for arms procurement in co-operation with European partners," it adds.Bernd Debusmann Jr
White House reporter
We still don't have clear and precise details of what President Trump plans to announce later today. But some lawmakers have been vocally pushing him to announce additional sanctions on Russia.
One bipartisan bill, which has the support of 85 of 100 US senators, would levy extremely high tariffs of up to 500% on imports from countries that purchase Russian oil, gas and uranium.
One of the bill's authors, South Carolina Republican Lindsey Graham, has repeatedly described those tariffs as a "sledgehammer" that could bring Russia to the negotiating table.
"We're going after the people who keep Putin in business, and additional sanctions on Russia itself," Graham told CBS News, the BBC's US partner, adding "that's the money Putin used to prosecute the war".
Additionally, some lawmakers have hinted that the US, together with European allies, could access frozen Russian assets, including $5bn (£3.7bn) frozen by US authorities.
This money could then be used in a trust account for Ukraine to use.
The step, however, would be unprecedented. No US president has ever taken the central bank assets of a foreign country that the US is not at war with.
Germany's defence ministry says there are very positive signs from Washington on the sale of Patriot air defence systems to Ukraine.
A spokesperson says that talks are now being held on the logistics of the deal, which examines, among other things, "how many systems there will be, who will take them over and how they will be financed."
Defence Minister Boris Pistorius will meet his US counterpart Pete Hegseth at the Pentagon later today. Bernd Debusmann Jr
White House reporter
It's still early morning in the US, where President Trump will meet with Nato Secretary-General Mark Rutte at the White House at 10:00 local time (15:00 BST).
For the moment, that meeting is taking place behind closed-doors, with no access for the "pool" of White House reporters.
These meetings, however, often open up to reporters with little notice, meaning that it's still possible that we see Trump on camera.
At noon local time, Trump will also participate in a luncheon of the White House Faith Office. Journalists will be allowed into the event – and many are likely to fire questions about today's announcement in Trump's direction.
As always, we could also hear from Trump, at any point, via posts on Truth Social.
There is no White House briefing scheduled today. 
Charlotte Gallagher
Reporting from Kyiv
An air raid alert sounded almost as soon as pictures were released of President Zelensky meeting the US special envoy to Ukraine, Keith Kellogg.
Ukraine says it was a Russian fighter jet taking off.
The alert was over in minutes, but underlines – particularly to VIP visitors like Kellogg – the ongoing threat in the skies over Ukraine.
Ukrainians are used to these alerts, many have a smartphone app which warns them, and you can hear the public sirens blaring out.Paul Adams
Diplomatic correspondent
While the Trump administration ponders the wisdom of sending more weapons to Ukraine, one of Russia’s most important allies is upping the scale of its involvement.
North Korea’s leader, Kim Jong Un, has offered his “unconditional support” to Moscow, according to state media reports following a visit to Pyongyang by Russia’s foreign minister, Sergei Lavrov.
Last year, North Korea sent an estimated 11,000 troops to join the fight against Ukraine.
Earlier this month, some reports suggested that Pyongyang might send another 25,000 to 30,000 troops.
But North Korea has also become a vital source of ammunition for Russia.
Last week, the head of Ukraine’s Defence Intelligence, Kyrylo Budanov, told Bloomberg News that North Korea was supplying up to 40% of the ammunition Russia is using against Ukraine.
Ukraine says Russia is making use of a variety of North Korean long range artillery systems, including howitzers and multiple launch rocket systems.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has finished his meeting with US special envoy Keith Kellogg, and describes it as a "productive conversation".
Posting on X, external, Zelensky says the pair discussed what the US and Ukraine "can practically do" to bring peace to Ukraine closer.
"This includes strengthening Ukraine’s air defence, joint production, and procurement of defence weapons in collaboration with Europe. And of course, sanctions against Russia and those who help it," Zelensky says.
He goes on to add that Kyiv is hoping for US leadership, and "it is clear that Moscow will not stop unless its unreasonable ambitions are curbed through strength."
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