Ukraine LIVE: EU civil war erupts as Putin’s closest ally in the bloc issues major demands

has indicated it is ready to accept an easing of sanctions on , if it helps to deliver a just peace for the country.

Vladyslav Vlasiuk, President ’s commissioner for sanctions policy, told POLITICO it was only a “matter of time” before countries would return to do business with .

However, he insisted this had to take place under the right conditions and that it was still premature to talk about which sanctions might be rescinded.

The US has dealt a major blow to ‘s peace deal hopes as national security adviser Mike Waltz suggested on Sunday evening Kyiv should give up its hopes of joining NATO and reestablishing its 2014 borders.

Speaking to Fox News, he suggested give up its eastern territories lost to , such as the Donbas region, as “this is going to be some type of territory-for-future-security guarantees [ceasefire deal]”.

The security official added that a “permanent pathway into NATO, or permanent membership into NATO for , is incredibly unlikely”.

This comes as , who reportedly wants a ceasefire within the coming weeks, confirmed direct talks with will take place on Tuesday.

He said: “We will be talking about land. We will be talking about power plants … We have a lot of it already discussed very much by both sides, and . We are already talking about that, dividing up certain assets.”

Zelensky wrote on X: “The Prime Minister made the right points about how we need to step up pressure on Moscow. The shadow fleet, the banking sector. We must impose all-out sanctions on everything that provides with funding for its war. Only then can we force Putin to a just and lasting peace.

“We also discussed the humanitarian aspect of security guarantees for . This includes rebuilding our country and supporting the economy after the war ends. We will work on this.

“We touched upon the Ukrainian agenda during Canada’s G7 presidency. We will continue interacting in various formats and at different levels to make our cooperation even more meaningful and practical.

“Additionally, we discussed the development of bilateral relations between our countries. Canada is interested in military-industrial and defense cooperation. Throughout this war, we have gained significant experience in the production of EW systems, long-range missiles, and drones. is ready for joint production.”

ominously said that negotiators were already talking about how to “divide up certain assets”.

The US president is due to speak with tomorrow as remains hesitant to agree to a ceasefire.

He said: “We will be talking about land. We will be talking about power plants … we have a lot of it already discussed very much by both sides, and .”

The South Korean and Ukrainian foreign ministers have been discussing how to handle North Korean prisoners of war.

Seoul said it would accept the captured soldiers, who have been fighting for .

The majority of North Korean soldiers are in ‘s border region of Kursk, and continue to sustain significant losses.

Emmanuel Macron reiterated his commitment to achieving “long and lasting peace” in during a joint meeting with Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney.

The French president said both countries would ensure “robust guarantees” to “enable the security of the whole of Europe, France and Canada”.

He added: “All powers of peace will take part of this effort jointly. It is in this spirit that we will continue to maintain our support to and continue to demand some clear commitments from .”

The US is to withdraw from the International Centre for the Prosecution of the Crime of Aggression against (ICPA) after joining it in 2023 under .

The group was created to investigate aggressors in the invasion of , icluding .

It also aims to hold ‘s allies in Belarus, North Korea, and Iran accountable for their actions.

has confirmed ‘s call with on Tuesday, but details still remain sparse.

Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov said: “Yes, this is correct, such a conversation is being prepared for Tuesday.”

However, he did not release any more details, saying, “We never do that, we don’t get ahead of ourselves.”

Ukrainian Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha said “all of our diplomatic tools” should be used to get to agree to an unconditional ceaseifre.

He wrote on X: “Now is the time to use all of our diplomatic tools to make accept these peace steps. Unconditionally, like did.

“I also focused on efforts to strengthen ‘s and Europe’s defence capabilities and self-sufficiency, advance sanctions policy, and proceed on ‘s EU accession path.

“Together, we will realise the new strength of Europe.”

Ukrainian soldiers have been withdrawing from the Russian border region of Kursk, but so far it has been messy amid continued drone strikes.

A soldier told the that it has been “catastrophic”, adding that he almost died “several times”.

Another told the outlet: “In one minute you can see two to three drones. That’s a lot.

“We have all the logistics here on one Sudzha-Sumy highway. And everyone knew that the [Russians] would try to cut it. But this again came as a surprise to our command.”

British troops could remain in for “years” if Sir is successful in securing a peacekeeping mission to protect a ceasefire deal.

A senior government source revealed that the peace plan, which is likely to involve other Kyiv allies, is currently open-ended and will go on for “as long as it takes”.

They told : “It would be a long-term commitment, we are talking about years. As long as it takes to preserve a peace deal and deter .”

Dmitry Medvedev, deputy chairman of the Security Council of , threatened a “war with NATO” over a peacekeeping mission in .

He wrote on X: “Macron and Starmer are playing dumb. Time and again they are told that peacekeepers must be from non-NATO states.

“No, we will send tens of thousands – just lay it out – you want to give military aid to the neo-Nazis in Kiev. That means war with NATO. Consult with Trump, scumbags.”

US Secretary of State Marco Rubio revealed there are two plans to securing a ceasefire in .

He told CBS News: “This is a complex, three-year war that’s been ongoing along a very long military front, with a lot of complexity to it.

“So no one’s claiming that it’s easy, but I want everyone to understand, here’s the plan.

“Plan A is, get the shooting to stop so that we can move to Plan B, phase two, which is have everybody at a table, maybe with some shuttle diplomacy, to figure out a way to permanently end this war in a way that’s enduring and it respects everybody’s needs and so forth.

“No one is saying that that second part is easy, but we can’t get even to that second part until we get past the first part.”

The regional governor of Astrakhan in said targeted energy facilities and other areas in over night drone strikes, but the situation is “under control”, he wrote on Telegram.

The country’s defence ministry said it took out 72 drones overnight, including 13 over Astrakhan and 36 over Kursk.

Kyiv Mayor Vitali Klitschko added that air defence systems were trying to neutralise a Russian drone strike.

Deputy Foreign Minister Alexander Grushko said must give up its hope of joining NATO if is to agree to a ceasefire.

He told Izvestia: “We will demand that ironclad security guarantees become part of this agreement.

“Part of these guarantees should be the neutral status of , the refusal of Nato countries to accept it into the alliance.”

confirmed a call with on Tuesday, which he said would be used to discuss “dividing up certain assets”.

He said: “We will see if we have something to announce maybe by Tuesday. I will be speaking to President Putin on Tuesday.

“A lot of work’s been done over the weekend. We want to see if we can bring that war to an end.

“We will be talking about land. We will be talking about power plants … dividing up certain assets.”

Good morning and welcome to our live blog covering all the updates in the – war. Following along throughout the day for the latest coverage.