Leaders set to meet to try to protect peace deal after Putin demands Ukraine withdraws from Donetsk and Luhansk
Welcome back to our live coverage of Russia’s war on Ukraine.
While Washington prepares to welcome Volodymyr Zelenskyy for crunch talks with Donald Trump on Monday, European leaders who make up the so-called “coalition of the willing”, a loose partnership of western countries pledging support for Ukraine, are set to hold a conference call on Sunday to try to protect a peace deal that does not reward Russia for its aggression.
The virtual call is being co-chaired by the UK’s prime minister Keir Starmer, French President Emmanuel Macron and the German chancellor, Friedrich Merz.
At the Alaska summit on Friday, Russian President Vladimir Putin demanded Ukraine withdraw from Donetsk and Luhansk as a condition for ending the war, but offered Trump a freeze along the remaining frontline, two sources with direct knowledge of the talks told the Guardian.
