Ukraine war latest: Russia will keep fighting until you meet our demands, Kyiv told as peace talks begin

Russian ⁠troops will keep fighting in Ukraine until ​Kyiv ​makes "decisions" that could bring ‍the war to an end. 

At least, that's according to Vladimir Putin's mouthpiece Dmitry Peskov, who made those comments just a few hours ago (see 11:34).

It doesn't appear to suggest Moscow is about to soften its demands in the war - that Ukraine give up territory Russia does not occupy in full, namely the eastern Donbas region.

NATO and European allies have consistently backed Ukraine's opposition to this.

But yesterday, the alliance's chief Mark Rutte made a comment that sparked this question in today's Q&A with our military analyst Michael Clarke...

Mark Rutte told Ukraine's parliament yesterday that "tough choices" must be made. Is Rutte referring to anything specific, such as withdrawing from the Donbas?

The answer - unlikely.

"There was nothing in that [Rutte's] statement that I saw which indicated any softening of his line, and he was bound to say that sort of thing," Clarke said.

"Privately he might be saying to them 'You're going to have to give a bit more', but if he is saying that I don't think they'll accept it."

The only possibility he could think of, he added, is that maybe Rutte - who has developed a reputation as a sort of "Trump-whisperer" - might have "made some off-the-cuff comment that he wanted to be picked up by the White House".

"...to show that he is doing all he can to support American thinking about the peace negotiations."

Here are the latest images we're receiving from Ukraine's frontline Zaporizhzhia region.

Residents in the villages of Tavriiske and Yurkivka are being evacuated as Russian troops advance nearby.

Many evacuations are mandatory, with residents pushed towards Zaporizhzhia city in the region's northern tip.

Chinese President Xi Jinping and Russian President Vladimir Putin have held talks via video.

The virtual meeting came in the middle of a series of meetings between Xi and Western leaders, who have sought to boost ties with China despite differences over Russia's war in Ukraine. 

Sir Keir Starmer and Canada's Mark Carney visited Beijing last month and German Chancellor Friedrich Merz is expected to head to China later this month. 

European leaders have pressed China for years to end its support for Russia. 

However, Beijing has continued to trade with Moscow, providing some relief from Western economic sanctions. 

We're about to get under way with this week's live Q&A.

Our military analyst Professor Michael Clarke is here to go through the questions you've submitted.

Tap on the link below to follow live.

Working level talks between Russia and France are under way, the Kremlin has confirmed.

Spokesperson Dmitry Peskov said there was nothing to announce for now when it comes to a possible conversation between Vladimir Putin and Emmanuel Macron.

The French president said yesterday that he was looking at resuming contact with Putin on the ‌war in Ukraine, ⁠even though he saw little readiness ‍from Moscow to negotiate a ceasefire.

The two leaders have not met since Macron visited Moscow in February 2022, weeks before Russia launched its full-scale invasion of Ukraine.

With peace talks under way in Abu Dhabi, here's a reminder of who is representing each delegation:

• Russia: Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov confirmed in a press call yesterday that the Russian delegation will be headed by Admiral Igor Kostyukov - head of Russian intelligence;
• US: Envoy Steve Witkoff and Donald Trump's son-in-law Jared Kushner will be also be in attendance, according to our US partner network NBC News;
• Ukraine: Volodymyr Zelenskyy said the Ukrainian delegation will include national security secretary Rustem Umerov, Kyrylo Budanov, head of the president's office, and Andrii Hnatov, chief of the general staff.

At least seven people have been killed and eight more injured in Russian attacks on a town in eastern Donetsk, its regional governor says.

Russia shelled ​Druzhkivka with cluster munitions, targeting the ​market "where there is always a large crowd of people", ‍Vadym Filashkin said on Telegram.

"This is another deliberate war crime and another proof that all Russian statements about a 'ceasefire' are worthless," he added.

"The final number of victims of this attack has not yet been established - we will report on significant updates later."

There was no immediate ‌comment from Russia ⁠on the ‌attacks. Both Moscow and ‍Kyiv deny targeting civilians.

Ukraine's air force says 105 Russian drones were fired at various targets across the country last night ahead of the latest round of peace talks beginning.

It said air defences, including anti-aircraft missiles and electronic warfare units, shot down and disabled 88 drones.

Some 17 drones struck targets at 14 locations, the air force added, while debris fell at five locations.

Here are the latest images from Ukraine's southern Odesa region after it was targeted overnight by Russian drones.

Regional governor Oleg Kiper said four people needed to be rescued from a two-storey residential building following the "massive drone attack".

A large-scale fire broke out, which was promptly extinguished by firefighters, officials added.

Kremlin ‌spokesman Dmitry Peskov says Russian ⁠troops will keep fighting in Ukraine until ​Kyiv ​makes "decisions" that could bring ‍the war to an end. 

Russia's position remains unchanged, ‌which is known ‌to both Ukrainian and US negotiators, ​Peskov said. 

His comments come as the latest round of peace talks between Kyiv, Moscow and Washington began in Abu Dhabi today.

Ukraine has rejected ‌Russia's demand that ⁠it cede the ‌remainder of its ‍Donbas region - land that Moscow's forces have not captured in four ​years of fighting.