Ukraine war latest: Zelenskyy joins emergency Ukraine talks in 'watershed moment' - as Kremlin blasts Macron

'We had 20 seconds to run': Survivors of Russian attack on Zelenskyy's hometown speak to Sky News

Moving away from the summit on Ukraine for a moment, we can bring you some news from Volodymyr Zelenskyy's hometown, where a Russian missile strike struck a hotel overnight.

According to the local authorities, four people were killed and 31 people injured in the strike on Kryvyi Rih.

We've just spoken to two survivors from the site of the attack, who for 10 minutes describe in harrowing detail what happened and show us the damage inflicted by the strike.

Karol Swiacki, chief executive of charity Ukraine Relief, arrived in the central Ukrainian city with sports equipment and generators to support schools, shelters and refugees in need of electricity.

"It's so hard to describe how we feel at this time, standing here," he tells Sky News from the site of the attack.

"We are a witness of absolutely terrible events."

Marc Edwards, an aid worker from Texas in the US, describes the moment the attack happened as hotel guests gathered for dinner.

He says people received a 20-second warning via text that a Russian missile was incoming.

"We stood up, we started running to the shelter. We'd barely left the table and it had taken out the building," he said.

"We were protected from the flying glass because of some heavy curtains. We climbed out through broken windows."

'This is Russia's message'

This is not the first time this hotel has been hit by a Russian strike, having been struck on 20 October last year.

"That is a direct hit on the hotel," says Edwards.

"It wasn't a fluke, it wasn't a rogue missile, it was a direct hit to take out civilian people.

"That's the message Russia wants to send the world."

Tusk: Europe must win 'arms race' with Russia

Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk says Russia has started a "new arms race" - and Europe must win it.

Speaking at a summit of EU leaders in Brussels alongside Volodymyr Zelenskyy, Tusk said it was in all of Europe's interests to build "one well-coordinated military power".

"Europe must take up this challenge, this arms race, and it must win it," he said.

Adding to his comments on X, Tusk said that Europe will, "from today", arm itself "more wisely and faster" than Moscow.

He said Russia "will lose" the arms race like the Soviet Union did 40 years ago, referring to the end of the Cold War.

France providing Ukraine with military intelligence

France is providing Ukraine with military intelligence, the French defence minister confirmed, after the US announced it was pausing all aid to Ukraine.

Washington's freeze on aid to Kyiv includes vital intelligence data used both for attacks against Russian forces, and defence against missile attacks.

Speaking to France Inter radio on Thursday, Sebastien Lecornu said France is continuing its intelligence sharing.

"Our intelligence is sovereign," he added. "We have intelligence that we allow Ukraine to benefit from."

He also said that Emmanuel Macron had asked him to "accelerate" French aid to Ukraine following the US pause on assistance.

Overnight, a missile attack on a Ukrainian hotel killed four people and wounded many more.

UK held talks with 'around 20' countries about coalition of the willing

UK officials held talks yesterday with representatives from around 20 countries interested in contributing to the "coalition of the willing", a British official said.

Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer announced that Britain and France were leading the project that could see soldiers from a group of countries sent to Ukraine as peacekeepers.

The official would not say which other countries had shown an interest in offering support, but added: "It shows the willingness of the coalition of the willing to convene and the desire of a number of different countries to play their part." 

"This is still early stages and the situation is very fluid." 

Russia has said that it will not accept European peacekeepers in Ukraine.

Zelenskyy enters EU chamber

Volodymyr Zelenskyy is now in the central chamber of the EU's headquarters in Brussels for today's summit.

He is joined by leaders from across Europe, as well as European Council president Antonio Costa and European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen.

UK armed forces minister delivers speech in London

The UK's armed forces minister is currently delivering a speech on security and defence at Chatham House in London.

Among the things outlined by Luke Pollard so far, he says a deal has been struck with a defence tech company to allow Ukrainian armed forces to use more advanced attack drones in the Black Sea. 

The Ministry of Defence says the drones, costing nearly £30m, will be supplied by Anduril UK and delivered to Ukraine "in the coming months".

Ukrainian opposition leaders dismiss idea of wartime elections

Two Ukrainian opposition leaders have dismissed the idea of holding elections while the country is at war.

Former president Petro Poroshenko and Yulia Tymoshenko both said elections should take place only when peace has been established.

Their remarks come after Donald Trump called Volodymyr Zelenskyy a "dictator without elections" for not holding one since Russia invaded - a narrative often pushed by the Kremlin in an attempt to delegitimize the Ukrainian leader.

This is despite Zelenskyy winning nearly 75% of the vote in 2019, beating Poroshenko.

Members of Trump's entourage have reportedly held talks with Poroshenko and Tymoshenko.

The discussions focused on whether Ukraine could hold quick presidential elections, according to Politico.

Ukraine's constitution does not permit elections while the country is under martial law, and there would be severe challenges in getting the vote out to people in occupied territories and soldiers on the front line in any case.

Poroshenko said on Telegram that elections should only happen after peace had been established - no later than 180 days after the end of the war.

Tymoshenko said her team "is talking with all our allies who can help in securing a just peace as soon as possible," and said that elections should not take place before this had been achieved. 

Zelenskyy meets Macron in Brussels

European leaders are beginning to gather in the central chamber of the EU headquarters for today's security summit.

Before that meeting begins, we can bring you some images from behind the scenes, showing Volodymyr Zelenskyy and Emmanuel Macron.

This is the first time the two leaders have seen each other since Sunday, when they were gathered in London for another summit.

Repeated Hungary vetoes on EU policy 'increasingly difficult'

The European Commission vice president has called for "unity and resolve in these very turbulent times".

Answering questions as she arrived at the emergency summit in Brussels, Kaja Kallas, the former Estonian prime minister spoke repeatedly about the importance of increasing defence spending, and fast.

The difficulty in reaching a consensus among the EU's 27 members was also put under the spotlight during the questions to Kallas.

"What about Hungary's blockade," one reporter asked the diplomat, a reference to Budapest's repeated vetoes of EU policy towards Ukraine. There has been speculation that Hungary could have its voting rights revoked.

Kallas responded: "This is increasingly difficult and that's why we have on the new initiative also considered the coalition of the willing, so that one country can't block everybody else.

"I will not speak for Hungary, we are still striving for having the unity of 27 leaders - and if that's not possible Hungary can speak for themselves."

Analysis: EU leaders walking a fine line

EU leaders are walking a really fine line at the moment, Europe correspondent Siobhan Robbins reports from Brussels.

"They need to not isolate the US and we know that Donald Trump is quite thin skinned so they need to be careful in what they say.

"They also need to be realistic and I think the last 47 days have drawn a massive question mark in lots of peoples minds as to how reliable a partner the US would be if it came to the crunch and Europe needed help to protect itself."

She adds that there has been lots of about boosting defence spending over the last few years but not a lot of action outside of countries like Poland and the Baltics which are geographically close to Ukraine.

But now we are seeing a "sea change", she says, as the live cameras show Volodymyr Zelenskyy arriving at the emergency summit.

'Watershed moment' for Europe and Ukraine

We can now bring you some comments from Volodymyr Zelenskyy, who is speaking to reporters in Brussels.

He thanks Europe's leaders for today's summit.

"During all this period, last week, you've stayed with us," he says.

"From all Ukrainians, we have a big appreciation. We are very thankful we are not alone. These are not just words, we feel it."

Ursula von der Leyen, the president of the European Commission, calls this a "watershed moment".

"It's so important that we stand together. Ukraine is part of our European family," she says.

"Europe faces a clear and present danger, and therefore it must be able to protect itself, defend itself." 

Latvia PM: We need to boost EU defence spending fast

"I expect swift actions and really clear decisions," Latvia's prime minister said as she arrived at the emergency summit.

Evika Silina welcomed proposals to boost EU-wide defence spending but said increases need to come quickly.

With America halting all aid to Ukraine, European leaders have been moving to increase their defence budgets in order to help shore up Kyiv's front lines.

"It's a good opportunity for Ukraine to get peace, but peace through strength," Silina added. "Without strength there will be no long lasting peace." 

Latvia spends 2.45% of its GDP on defence and together with the other Baltic states (Estonia and Lithuania) has been a vocal supporter of Ukraine.

She emphasised that what happens in Ukraine directly affects the security of her own country - and the rest of Europe.

"For Baltic states we really need to go very fast forward because we are frontline countries and we are already now spending a a lot of our own budget for defending Europe's border... as we are the NATO border." 

Von der Leyen: 'Europe faces a clear danger'

Ursula von der Leyen, the president of the European Commission, has shared a message on X as she arrives at today's summit.

She says Europe "faces a clear and present danger" and stresses the importance of today's summit boosting defence spending on the continent.

"We must be able to defend ourselves and put Ukraine in a position of strength," she adds.

US joins 'axis of evil' in 'destroying world order', says Ukrainian ambassador

Away from the summit in Brussels, we've been hearing from Ukraine's UK ambassador Valerii Zaluzhnyi.

He's been speaking at Chatham House in London.

"The failure to qualify actions of Russia as an aggression is a huge challenge for the entire world and Europe, in particular," he says.

"Because we see, it's not just the axis of evil and Russia trying to revise the world order – but the US is finally destroying this order."

Tusk: Europe will rearm quicker than Russia

We can now bring you comments from various leaders as they arrive for the summit in Brussels.

Donald Tusk, the Polish prime minister, has arrived with a brace on his leg and tells reporters that Europe will rearm "quicker, smarter and more effectively" than Russia.

He says the US is now a "more demanding partner" but that alliance between America and Europe must be an "absolute priority".

Meanwhile, Gitanas Nauseda, the Lithuanian president, says it would be "irresponsible to waste this time".

He proposes to set a provisional date for Ukraine to join the EU - suggesting 31 January 2030.

He says this won't be a legal definition but will be a political commitment to "set the path and to send very clear guidelines" to Ukraine.

Macron: 'I want to believe US will remain at our side'

As EU leaders arrive at the emergency summit in Brussels, Emmanuel Macron has repeated his vow to open a debate on extending France's nuclear umbrella.

But he emphasised the ultimate decision on the use of nuclear weapons would remain in the hands of the French presidency.

"I want to believe the US will remain at our side," he says. "But we also have to be ready if the US is no longer by our side."

It comes amid concern from European leaders that America may no longer be a reliable security partner, as Donald Trump appears to be softening America's attitude to Russia.

Macron said he will convene the army chiefs of countries willing to deploy troops to Ukraine after any peace deal.

Macron and Merz arrive in Brussels

We're starting to see the first European leaders arrive in Brussels for today's emergency summit.

The high-level gathering will focus on finance, including ways for the EU as a whole to rapidly scale up defence spending and work together to invest in things like air defence

European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen says leaders are meeting today to "rearm Europe" and help defend Ukraine.

Germany's likely next chancellor Friedrich Merz has arrived, as has French President Emmanuel Macron, both of whom are expected to speak today.

We'll keep you up to date with the latest arrivals here in the blog. You can also watch the livestream at the top of this page.

-SKY NEWS