Diplomats from the UK, France, Germany, Ukraine and the US will hold fresh talks in London on Wednesday aimed at securing a ceasefire in the three-year war between Ukraine and Russia. The talks come amid growing speculation that Russia might be willing to halt its invasion along current front lines in return for significant concessions. The pace of diplomatic efforts to end the war is quickening but there is little clarity about where they are heading or whether they will succeed. US President Donald Trump's special envoy, Steve Witkoff, and his Secretary of State, Marco Rubio, had been expected in London but they pulled out, sending Trump's Ukraine envoy, Gen Keith Kellogg, instead. On Tuesday evening Rubio spoke to UK Foreign Secretary David Lammy about what he hoped would be "substantive and good technical meetings". Lammy himself called the conversation "productive", taking place ahead of a "critical moment for Ukraine, Britain and Euro-Atlantic Security" as "talks continue at pace". The US secretary of state said he would reschedule his trip to the UK in the coming months, posting on X: "I look forward to following up after the ongoing discussions." The White House said Witkoff would travel to Moscow this week for his fourth meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin. All this comes amid reports in the Financial Times that Russia might be ready to halt its invasion along the current front lines and give up some territorial ambitions in return for US recognition of Russian sovereignty over Crimea. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said no such proposals had been shared with him and he ruled out recognizing Crimea as Russian territory. Putin unilaterally called a temporary ceasefire for the Easter weekend but UK Defence Secretary John Healey told the House of Commons on Tuesday that British military intelligence had found no evidence of a let-up in attacks. "While Putin has said he declared an Easter truce, he broke it," he said. "While Putin says he wants peace, he has rejected a full ceasefire and while Putin says he wants to put an end to the fighting, he continues to play for time in the negotiations." Healey added that he could "confirm Russian military progress" was "slowing" while the country continued to "pressure Ukraine on a number of fronts". It is estimated that hundreds of thousands of people have been killed or injured on all sides since Russia invaded Ukraine on 24 February 2022, and nearly seven million Ukrainians are currently listed as refugees worldwide. The conflict goes back more than a decade, to 2014, when Ukraine's pro-Russian president was overthrown. Russia then annexed Crimea and backed militants in bloody fighting in eastern Ukraine. — BBC
