Euro anger at being frozen out as PM says he's willing to put troops on the ground in Ukraine
The Prime Minister has said he is prepared to put UK troops on the ground in Ukraine as he meets European leaders at a crisis summit in Paris – many of whom are annoyed at being frozen out of peace talks.
Sir Keir Starmer said he was set to make the move if there was a deal to end the war with Russia, adding that he was "ready and willing" to commit British troops to a peacekeeping force.
His comments came after a meeting of Nato defence secretaries in Brussels at which the US made its stance on Nato, Ukraine and European nations very clear.
US Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth said the Trump administration does not see Ukraine joining Nato, adding that any return to the country's borders before 2014 was also unrealistic.
This was followed by a heavily critical speech delivered by US Vice President JD Vance, who said he did not see Russia or China as the greatest threat to Europe.
Instead, Mr Vance said the biggest threat came "from within".
As a result, French President Emmanuel Macron called together national leaders, including Sir Keir and German Chancellor Olaf Scholz, for a summit in Paris to discuss Ukraine.
At the same time, the US has sent a team of negotiators to Saudi Arabia for peace talks with Russia.
Donald Trump and his team have reiterated that there will be a place for Ukraine at the negotiating table, despite fears it was going to be frozen out.
Sky News reported that there was a team from Ukraine in Saudi Arabia to facilitate a possible visit from Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky.
But a senior adviser to the Ukrainian leader denied he would be taking part.
"There is nothing on the negotiating table that would be worth discussing," said Mykhailo Podolyak.
Alhough Ukrainian officials are careful to praise Mr Trump, his push to engage directly with the Russians without first consulting Kyiv and to leave out the Europeans entirely is a cause for alarm in Ukraine and Europe.
Kyiv wants to devise a joint strategy with its US - and European allies - before meeting Russian officials.
Regardless of whether or not Mr Zelensky attends, there will be no place for European officials at the talks as they have been excluded.
Last week, Professor Michael Clarke, a former director at think-tank Rusi, told the latest episode of the BFBS Sitrep podcast that whoever was not at the negotiating table would end up being on the menu.
"We are now all on the menu for this meeting between the two big, really imperialist leaders," he said.
Prof Clarke criticised the US's negotiating team, saying it looks as though Mr Trump is going to "roll over to Putin's demands".
"And to be honest, you know, in negotiating terms, Putin will just take Trump to the cleaners," he said.
"Trump will be lucky to come out of that meeting in his underwear."
Meanwhile, Russia has increased the number of attacks, including the targeting of a Ukrainian logistics hub.
Kyiv's military also reported 261 combat engagements with Russia over a 24-hour period on Saturday – the most this year and more than double the number recorded in previous days.
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