Kyiv is working with allies on security guarantees akin to NATO's mutual protection pledge, Ukraine's president Volodymr Zelensky has said. Officials from Ukraine and allies the U.S., the U.K., France and Germany met in London on Thursday in a week when a peace proposal was produced which outlined an Article 5-like agreement which would be backed by Washington.

President Donald Trump is calling for Ukraine and Russia to meet for “very high level talks,” saying they are “very close to a deal” after productive meetings.

The president’s comments came after he said Crimea “will stay with Russia,” a position backed by the mayor of Kyiv, who conceded that his country may have to give up territory.

Nearly nine months after losing chunks of the Kursk region to a surprise Ukrainian incursion, Russia has announced that its troops have fully reclaimed the border territory

Russia has regained control of Kursk, the border region where Ukraine launched a surprise offensive last year, President Vladimir Putin said.

Ukraine denied that it had been pushed out of the region and said that its military operations inside Russia were continuing.