The \u200cUS 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 10:26, UK
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 \u2013 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.<\/p>\n
The \u200cUS 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 \u200bof 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 envoys 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’s 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 United States and details of a US 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.
That’s it for our live coverage on the war in Ukraine today.
Here are the day’s big developments:
Our Europe correspondent Alistair Bunkall gave his assessment of the coalition of the willing news conference:<\/b>
Our military analyst Sean Bell<\/a> has been assessing the timing of today’s coalition of the willing meeting in Paris, after much discussion on US foreign policy was dominated by Venezuela and Greenland in recent days.
“<\/b>I think what we’re seeing at the moment is that America sees itself as the dominant force in that western sphere of influence, and looking east, it’s China that’s dominant in the eastern sphere of influence,” he said ahead of the press conference earlier.
“What that leaves is that middle ground and who is going to be controlling that – is that Russia, is that Europe?
“Maybe that’s manifesting itself in the conflict in Ukraine.”
Despite the talks in Paris, there is still no real sign of a ceasefire in Ukraine being agreed soon, Bell said.
French President Emmanuel Macron did announce the Declaration of Paris at the press conference, which outlines key security guarantees for Ukraine in the event of a ceasefire (see 18:37 post).
“<\/b>I don’t think it’s a coincidence that each of the 27 leaders [of the coalition] made it in person, rather than joining via Zoom, because they realise the gravity of the situation,” Bell added.
Ukraine’s state-owned energy company has said on social media that hourly power outages will be introduced in all of the country’s regions tomorrow.
Power limitation schedules will also apply to industrial consumers.
“The reason for the introduction of restriction measures is the consequences of Russian missile and drone attacks on energy facilities,” Ukrenergo said on Telegram.
When power is restored, it asks Ukrainians to “please consume it sparingly”.
Moscow has repeatedly hit Ukraine’s power grid and energy facilities since the start of the war and has stepped up attacks again this winter to put pressure on Kyiv, frequently causing mass blackouts.
Our Europe correspondent Alistair Bunkall<\/a> has been giving his initial reaction to the coalition of the willing news conference in Paris.
There was a real effort to try and separate the looming geopolitical issue of Greenland and keep the focus on Ukraine, he says.
The Declaration of Paris that was signed also feels like “a significant step forward”.
“I think the Ukrainians, speaking to them privately, feel much more reassured now that in the event of a ceasefire – if ever we were to get that – they do have that security guarantee.”
The US-European dynamic, which has been “shaky” over the past year or so, felt very different today, Bunkall says.
“There was a real effort, one felt, for both sides to kind of pat each other on the back, and to pour platitudes at each other.”
Watch Bunkall’s analysis<\/b>
Donald Trump’s son-in-law Jared Kushner answers a question from the media as the news conference comes to an end.
There were extensive conversations between Volodymyr Zelenskyy and Donald Trump on security guarantees at their Mar-a-Lago meeting last month, he says.
“I think that they really resolved most if not all of the issues that are outstanding on that,” he says.
“I will say I think today was a very, very big milestone.”
But this does not mean that peace will be reached in Ukraine, he says.
“If Ukraine is going to make a final deal, they have to know that after a deal, they are secure, they have a robust deterrence and there are real backstops to make sure that this will not happen again.”
Taking questions from reporters, Emmanuel Macron stresses the importance of the US in delivering security guarantees for Ukraine.
He says: “They are the only ones who have the ability to provide certain guarantees, all of that is of key importance.”
But the French leader also adds that “recent weeks have illustrated a change [in their position]”.
Macron doesn’t elaborate on what the change is.
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