The last week has seen key diplomats spring into action following the unexpected announcement of face-to-face meeting between the US and Russian presidents.

Their meeting did not end with a deal, but it’s sparked a flurry of international conversations and paved the way for talks between the US and Ukraine on Monday.

We’ve taken a look back at the key moments:

• 6 August: US envoy Steve Witkoff holds talks with Russian President Vladimir Putin in Moscow
• 8 August: Trump announces “highly anticipated” Putin meeting, which is later confirmed by the Kremlin
• 11 August: European Union foreign ministers call for an unconditional ceasefire before any deal is agreed
• 11 August: US President Donald Trump tells a White House news conference there could be “some swapping” of territory between Russia and Ukraine to bring an end to the war
• 13 August: Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky travels to Berlin. European leaders and Nato members host a call which Trump and JD Vance join part way through
• 13 August: Trump says there is a chance of a future meeting between Putin and Zelensky
• 14 August: Zelensky travels to the UK to meet Prime Minister Keir Starmer – neither make comments to the media
• 15 August: Trump-Putin meeting in Alaska fails to result in a deal but both parties say some progress made, without providing details

And, here’s what we’ve got coming up:

• 17 August: European leaders will convene a virtual meeting, though the specific aims and details remain sparse
• 18 August: Zelensky is set to fly to Washington DC for a meeting with Trump, his first since their showdown in the White House in February

Jack Fenwick
Political correspondent

The so-called coalition of the willing last met on Wednesday and, at that point, a ceasefire was one of their key aims.

They agreed that “meaningful negotiations can only take place in the context of a ceasefire or a lasting and significant cessation of hostilities”.

Since then, the prospect of a ceasefire has changed course.

President Trump said after his meeting with Putin that he wants to skip a ceasefire and move straight to alasting peace deal, a move which has worried many people in Ukraine.

Trump claimed that other Nato leaders agreed with him onthis – when I put that to a senior Downing Street source yesterday, theywouldn’t confirm whether that was the case.

In a joint statement from European leaders on Saturday, and another from Starmer, the word ceasefire wasn’t used.

The leaders’ language on what they now think a peace deallooks like could be one of the most interesting developments today.

I’m told that following the meeting of the coalition of the willing later, we can expect a joint statement from the leaders on the call.

One thing to look out for will be whether they talk about a potential ceasefire.

Jack Fenwick
Political correspondent

Later today Keir Starmer will jointly chair a virtual meeting of the so-called coalition of the willing – the more than 30 countries working together to support Ukraine.

The conference call will look ahead to the meeting between President Trump and President Zelensky in Washington DC tomorrow.

We’re not yet sure whether there’ll be any other European involvement in that meeting.

Yesterday the New York Times reported that European leaders had been invited to DC, but the BBC understands that right now there’s no plan for Starmer to attend.

What’s less clear is whether the invite was sent out – and if the European leaders could discuss their potential presence later.

There are a couple of topics that we know will be on the agenda.

The first is what they can do to make sure that Zelensky is more involved in any future talks between the US and Russia.

The second is what sort of security guarantee could be given to Ukraine in the event of a peace deal, and the extent to which the Americans will need to be involved in that.

While Washington prepares to welcome Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelensky on Monday, European leaders will convene a meeting on the war this afternoon.

The virtual call is being co-chaired by the UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer, French President Emmanuel Macron and German Chancellor Friedrich Merz, with more of Ukraine’s allies set to join.

They form part of the “coalition of the willing”, which is aimed at defending a deal in Ukraine and guaranteeing lasting peace.

The leaders last met last on Wednesday, when their call was joined part way through by US President Donald Trump and Vice-President JD Vance.

We’ll be keeping a close eye on developments as the day progresses and will bring you the key lines from their meeting.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has said that “stopping killing is a key element of stopping the war”, as he said Russia is complicating efforts to end the war.

In a post on X he says: “We see that Russia rebuffs numerous calls for a ceasefire and has not yet determined when it will stop the killing.

“This complicates the situation.”

He adds that it may take “as lot of effort” for Russia to reach a “peaceful coexistence” with Ukraine, accusing Putin of lacking “the will to carry out a simple order to stop the strikes”.

In a joint statement, shared by the Ukrainian president, the leaders of the Nordic Baltic Eight say that Putin “cannot be trusted” but countries “remain steadfast” in their support for Ukraine.

Zelensky stresses that he continues to work with other countries for peace and security, he says leaders must clarify details and determine which steps are necessary to bring the war to an end.

Matt Spivey
Live editor

Good morning from the London newsroom.

After talks between the US and Russian presidents failed to reach a deal on ending the Ukraine war, Volodymyr Zelensky said Vladimir Putin is “complicating the situation” by refusing to a ceasefire.

Despite not having a seat at the table during the Alaska summit on Friday, Zelensky told Donald Trump in a call that sanctions on Russia “should be strengthened if there is no trilateral meeting or if Russia tries to evade an honest end to the war”.

Following his meeting with Putin, Trump had a major shift in position. He wants to bypass a ceasefire in Ukraine and move directly to a permanent peace agreement.

But, Zelensky – who will travel to Washington DC on Monday to meet Trump – has reiterated calls for “a truly sustainable and reliable peace”.

Later today attention will turn to Ukraine’s allies as the UK, France and Germany will hold a joint call with other European leaders on the Ukraine war.

We’ll be keeping you up to date with the latest developments throughout the day, so do stay with us.