US 'working on Putin-Zelenskyy meeting' after European allies warn Ukraine can't be sidelined in peace talks

Ukraine and Europe 'outlined negotiation plan for US' at UK security summit

Ukraine and its European allies reportedly outlined a plan for negotiations to US vice president JD Vance, during the security summit at Chevening yesterday.

Our US partner NBC News cites a person familiar with the discussions.

It reports that officials gave Vance an outline of a plan for what they want from negotiations with Russia.

It comes after the US leader suggested Ukraine would have to give up some of its territories as part of any peace proposal.

That plan is reportedly set to be reviewed by Donald Trump as he prepares for Friday's meeting with Vladimir Putin.

US working on Putin-Zelenskyy meeting

US vice president JD Vance says Washington is working on a meeting between Vladimir Putin and Volodymyr Zelenskyy.

Vance made the comments during an interview with Fox News.

He told the US outlet that the US was in the process of scheduling when the Russian and Ukrainian leaders can meet and discuss an end to the conflict.

Vance adds that he doesn't think it's productive to have Putin and Zelenskyy sit down ahead of the Alaska summit.

One killed after Russian drone attack in Kherson

A 48-year-old man was killed after a Russian drone attack in Kherson.

The attack took place around 11.30am local time in the village of Dniprovske.

This brings the number of dead in the attacks overnight into today up to at least six.

Zelenskyy warns path to peace 'must be determined together'

President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has spent much of the weekend gently warning against Donald Trump's suggestion Ukraine will have to give up land in any potential peace deal.

It has long been Kyiv's position it would not sacrifice land to Russia in the eventuality of any ceasefire.

But Trump said on Friday there would be some "swapping" of territories - despite the fact that Ukraine occupies no Russian land.

In his latest nightly address, Zelenskyy said the war must be ended with a "dignified peace".

Zelenskyy speaks to more world leaders

Ukraine's Volodymyr Zelenskyy has spoken to more world leaders this afternoon.

After the security summit in Chevening, Kent, yesterday, Zelenskyy rang around several European leaders.

He's now spoken to the leaders of Sweden, Kazakhstan and Azerbaijan.

In a statement after speaking to Kassym-Jomart Tokayev of Kazakhstan, Zelenskyy said: "I noted that it is extremely dangerous for every people if this or that independent state is considered simply a 'territory' and attempts are made to divide it. History has repeatedly demonstrated that if such injustice is allowed against one state, it does not end there."

He thanked Sweden for its $4bn allocated this year to help with Ukraine's defence.

"Sweden, like all countries of Northern Europe, clearly supports the need for the fastest, fairest and most reliable end to the war and effective pressure on Russia," he added.

With Azerbaijan, the two leaders discussed their energy cooperation, Zelenskyy added.

EU foreign ministers to meet tomorrow

EU foreign ministers are due to meet tomorrow, the bloc's foreign policy chief has said.

Kaja Kallas announced the meeting as she warned that the US has the power to force Russia to negotiate seriously.

"The US has the power to force Russia to negotiate seriously. Any deal between the US and Russia must have Ukraine and the EU included, for it is a matter of Ukraine's and the whole of Europe's security," Kallas said in emailed comments

She also says that all occupied territories, around 20% of Ukraine, belong to Kyiv, and warned that any deal must not act as a springboard for further Russian aggression.

Kallas said that "as we work towards a sustainable and just peace, international law is clear: all temporarily occupied territories belong to Ukraine."

"A deal must not provide a springboard for further Russian aggression against Ukraine, the transatlantic alliance and Europe," she added.

Realist vs real estate: How will Trump and Putin approach Alaska summit?

We've been speaking to Sir Tony Brenton, the former British ambassador to Russia from 2004-2008 on Sky News.

Talking to presenter Darren McCaffrey, Sir Tony explains how he thinks the US and Russia leaders will be approaching the summit behind closed doors.

Realist vs real estate

"I think Putin and Trump respect each other. I'm not sure how much they like each other, but each regards the other as a serious player in a world rather devoid of them," Sir Tony says.

This, he explains, "will draw the divide".

"It means that when they get into a negotiation for Trump, it would be like a real estate negotiation. I'm talking to someone with serious assets, which I want to engage with, and I will engage with it in a sensible, coherent way.

"For Putin, I've met Putin several times, and he thinks constantly [of] the bottom line, the bottom line being what is good for Russia. 

"So two absolute realists like that, hopefully there's a prospect of them finding a way to distinguish between what is achievable and what isn't."

'Putin has moved a little bit'

Sir Tony also says that Vladimir Putin has moved slightly in his position.

"It has to be said that Putin has moved a little bit. He's moved from saying, I'm not going to talk to this man [Zelenskyy] at all, to that will come a time when I'm willing to talk to him," Sir Tony says. 

But he warns that for Putin, he's been "pretty clear" that the summit in Alaska is not that time.

'Do you adjust to reality or insist on principle?'

On the role European allies had played, Sir Tony says they could have been more helpful in the grander scheme of ending fighting.

"I think probably their main aim, however, is to get a process going of proper dialogue and proper negotiation to try and nail down, eventually an agreement and a ceasefire," Sir Tony says.

He goes on: "I have to say that I don't think on that front, the Europeans are proving very helpful, and the Europeans seem to have taken to enunciating grand moral principles without thinking about what is particularly negotiable.

"So they've said, for example, we will never recognise changing borders by force. Russia took Crimea by force. 

"They're never going to give it back barring a huge defeat on the battlefield, so what do you do about that? 

"Do you adjust to the reality or do you insist on the principle?"

Three people killed on Ukrainian beach by unexploded objects

Three people in Ukraine have been killed by unexploded objects.

The incident took place at two beaches were swimming was banned, regional officials say.

Governor Oleh Kiper says one man was killed in Karolino-Buhaz and another man and woman killed in nearby Zatoka, both down the coast from the regional capital. 

"All of them were blown up by explosive objects while swimming in prohibited recreational zones," he says in a statement. 

"This once again proves that being in unchecked waters is fatally dangerous!!!" 

The Black Sea region has long been a popular summer destination, but authorities have urged caution since Russia's full-scale invasion left mines scattered near its coast. 

Kiper says 32 areas have been deemed safe for swimming, and 30 of those are located in the city of Odesa. 

Ukraine takes responsibility for attack on Russian oil depot

Ukraine's armed forces has taken responsibility for an attack on a Russian oil refinery.

We brought you news earlier, see our 7.47 post, that one person was killed in a Ukrainian attack in southern Russia.

This was according to the local governor, Roman Busargin.

Now, Ukraine's military has said it hit the Saratov oil refinery.

"As a result of the UAV hit, explosions and a fire were recorded on the territory of the enterprise," it says.

It adds: "The Saratov Oil Refinery is one of the key facilities of the fuel infrastructure of the Russian Federation, involved in providing the occupation forces with petroleum products. 

"Its annual processing capacity is up to 7 million tons of oil."

-SKY NEWS