US Vice-President JD Vance and UK Foreign Secretary David Lammy are hosting a meeting of senior security officials near London to discuss the war in Ukraine.
Earlier on Saturday, UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer had a call with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, and said they agreed it would be a “vital forum” to discuss progress towards peace.
Zelensky has stressed he will make no territorial concessions to Russia ahead of a summit between US President Donald Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin next week to discuss the future of the war.
Trump earlier signalled Ukraine may have to cede territory to end the war, which began with Russia’s full-scale invasion in February 2022.
Saturday’s meeting is understood to be taking place at Chevening, Lammy’s official country residence in Kent, where Vance and his family are currently staying, and to have been called at the request of the US.
Senior security officials from the US, Ukraine and Europe will take part.
Trump and Putin are set to meet in Alaska on 15 August to discuss the future of the war in Ukraine.
Speaking on a potential deal to end the war, Trump said on Friday that there “will be some swapping of territories, to the betterment of both”.
“You’re looking at territory that’s been fought over for three and a half years, a lot of Russians have died. A lot of Ukrainians have died,” the US president said.
Russia has consistently insisted on Ukraine recognising Russian sovereignty over several Ukrainian regions, agreeing to demilitarisation and abandoning its Nato aspirations.
Trump’s position has also consistently involved Ukraine sacrificing land for peace.
While Zelensky has been careful not to criticise Trump, his post on social media makes clear that he will not accept it.
In a Telegram post on Saturday, he said “Ukrainians will not give their land to the occupier”, and reiterated that Ukraine must be involved in any solution for peace.
“We are ready, together with President Trump, together with all partners, to work for a real, and most importantly, lasting peace – a peace that will not collapse because of Moscow’s wishes.”
This is what Ukraine, and many European allies, were always worried about – Trump and Putin trying to do a deal without Ukraine present.
In a post on X on Saturday, French President Emmanuel Macron said Ukraine’s future could not “be decided without the Ukrainians” and warned that “Europeans will also necessarily be part of the solution, as their own security is at stake”.
Trump’s words on Russia may have hardened in recent months, but for Ukraine they have yet to be followed by tangible actions.
On Friday, a deadline set by the US president for Russia to agree to a ceasefire or face more sanctions passed without any apparent consequences.
The BBC’s US partner CBS News, citing a senior White House official, reported that it remains possible Zelensky could end up being involved in the meeting between Putin and Trump in some way, as planning for the Friday meeting is still fluid.
On the ground there is a resignation that any initial peace talks may not include Ukraine.
Soldiers and civilians the BBC spoke to expressed a strong desire for peace. There is exhaustion from the constant fighting and Russian drone and missile attacks.
But there is little evidence that Ukraine is willing to accept a peace at any price – much less one that will be forced on it without its voice being heard.
