Image source, Reuters

We're pausing our live coverage now but here's the latest on the ongoing diplomatic talks aimed at bringing peace in Ukraine, as well as the latest developments in the war:

Zelensky on Crimea: The Ukrainian president says the southern Ukrainian peninsula - which Russia illegally annexed in 2014 - belongs to Ukraine. It follows comments from US President Donald Trump to Time magazine that "Crimea will stay with Russia".

US-Russia meeting: Talks between US special envoy Steve Witkoff and Vladimir Putin in Moscow today have been "constructive", says Putin's aide Yuri Ushakov. The meeting lasted three hours and they discussed the possibility of direct peace talks between Russia and Ukraine.

Moscow car bomb: Russian General Yaroslav Moskalik was killed in an attack in Moscow, and investigators are scouring the scene. Russia's foreign ministry has described the killing as an "act of terror" - Ukraine is yet to comment.

Two peace proposals: Reuters news agency reports it has seen documents outlining two separate peace proposals - one from the US and the other drafted by Europe and Ukraine. We've taken a closer look.

Attacks continue: Russian strikes on Ukraine continue, with three killed overnight in the Dnipropetrovsk region. In Belgorod, Moscow, the local governor says two people have been killed in a Ukrainian drone strike.

Thank you for joining us. You can read more about the senior Russian general killed by car bomb in Moscow, as well as the meeting between Putin and Trump's envoy.

To understand why Crimea is so hotly contested in peace talks, we need to look back to 2014.

While Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine began in 2022, the conflict started in 2014 when its soldiers entered Crimea.

Ukrainian President Zelensky says Crimea - a southern peninsula of Ukraine illegally annexed by Russia in 2014 - belongs to Ukraine, citing the Ukrainian constitution.

Article 2 of the constitution says Ukraine's sovereignty "extends throughout its entire territory," which "within its present border is indivisible and inviolable".

So to give it up would be the Ukrainian leader going against his country's constitution.

In an interview with Time, US President Trump said Crimea will stay with Russia.

For Trump, Ukraine's southern peninsula was "lost years ago" and "is not even a part of discussion" in peace talks.

But for Zelensky to renounce Crimea as an indivisible part of Ukraine would be unconscionable.

• For more on why Zelensky can't and won't give up Ukraine, read our Europe editor's piece here

While speaking to reporters in Kyiv, Zelensky says he might miss Pope Francis's funeral in Rome tomorrow because of important military meetings.

World leaders, including US President Donald Trump, are expected to attend the leader of the Catholic church's funeral.

Zelensky, who had earlier said he would attend, says: "If I am not (there) in time, Ukraine will be represented at a proper level", noting that Ukraine's foreign minister and first lady will be there.

The Ukrainian president says there are a "number of meetings" to be had over the Russian strike on Kyiv yesterday that killed 12 people.

"There are several closed questions about this strike and about Ukraine's corresponding steps. I don't know how long it will take. So if I have time, I will definitely be present (at the funeral)," Zelensky says.

Vitaliy Shevchenko
Russia editor, BBC Monitoring

President Volodymyr Zelensky suggests that Ukraine would be willing to discuss territorial concessions as part of peace talks.

Speaking to reporters in Kyiv, he says Ukraine would be willing to “discuss territorial issues but only a full and unconditional ceasefire”.

“A full and unconditional ceasefire opens up the possibility to discuss everything,” he says.

“What President Trump says is true, and I agree with him in that today we do not have enough weapons to return control over the Crimean peninsula,” he tells reporters in Kyiv.

Previously, officials in Kyiv ruled out making territorial concessions in exchange for peace with Russia.

Donald Trump said in an interview with Time magazine published today that "Crimea will stay with Russia".

Image source, Reuters

Ukrainian President Zelensky says Crimea belongs to Ukraine, following comments from US President Trump who said "Crimea will stay with Russia", in an interview with Time.

"Our position is unchanged: only the Ukrainian people have the right to decide which territories are Ukrainian," Zelensky tells reporters in Kyiv.

"The constitution of Ukraine says that all the temporarily occupied territories... belong to Ukraine, to the Ukrainian people."

As a reminder, Crimea is a southern peninsula of Ukraine that was illegally annexed by Russia in 2014. Zelensky has repeatedly rejected the idea of recognising the region as Russian.

Vitaliy Shevchenko
Russia editor, BBC Monitoring

The last major direct talks between Russia and Ukraine took place back in 2022 and ultimately failed to have much of an impact on the war.

In October that year, President Zelensky banned talks with Putin, arguing that they would be exploited by the Kremlin to foster separatism in Ukraine.

On 22 April 2025, however, he said that Ukraine is ready for “any format” of negotiations with Russia provided it fully ceases fire.

Yuriy Sak, adviser to Ukraine's Ministry of Strategic Industries, tells the BBC that Russia appears to be "dragging its feet" and treating the process of peace talks as a "spectacle".

He says Ukraine speaks with its European partners daily, and he is reassured they'll stand with the country until peace is achieved.

But he says there are certain things only the US can provide, so it's "very important to preserve the strategic partnership".

He adds that Russia needs to "show genuine proof they're committed to this peace process".

As a reminder, Putin aide Yuri Ushakov said the Russian president and US special envoy Steve Witkoff held a "constructive meeting" in Moscow earlier, and discussed the possibility of direct talks between Russia and Ukraine.

We mentioned earlier that the mayor of Kyiv, Vitali Klitschko, has told the BBC that Ukraine may have to give up land as part of a peace deal with Russia.

It follows growing pressure from US President Donald Trump to accept territorial concessions.

The political opponent to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, called it a "temporary" solution. But what might that actually mean? BBC Verify's Merlyn Thomas explains.

As we've reported, Reuters news agency says it has seen documents outlining two separate peace proposals to end the Russia-Ukraine war, both mentioning territorial recognition.

Since Russia annexed Crimea in 2014, and following its full-scale invasion eight years later, Russian forces have taken over roughly 20% of the country.

Russia has since held a series of referendums in occupied territory, widely condemned as sham polls, in which Moscow claimed up to 99% of people voted in favour of joining Russia.

Here's a breakdown of territory under Russian control:

• Crimea: Russia invaded the southern peninsula of Crimea in February 2014 before annexing it soon afterwards
• Luhansk and Donetsk: The two eastern regions make up the Donbas region, which has been contested since Russian-backed separatists seized control in 2014
• Kherson: Russia occupies the southern part south of the Dnieper river, which joins up with the Black Sea. Ukrainian forces liberated its biggest city, also called Kherson, in a major victory in 2022
• Zaporizhzhia: Russia has controlled most of the southern region of Zaporizhzhia since 2022, annexing it later that year

US envoy Steve Witkoff, who met Vladimir Putin for talks today, has previously suggested a potential peace deal hinged on the status of these five regions.

Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov has blamed Ukraine for the earlier killing of General Yaroslav Moskalik in a car bomb attack in Moscow.

“The Kyiv regime has yet again shown its nature. The Kyiv regime continues its involvement in terrorist activities inside our country," Peskov tells a Russian state TV reporter.

"It shows yet again that despite the peace talks, we must stay alert and understand what that regime is about,” he adds.

Ukraine has not commented on the attack yet, but Zelensky has urged more pressure on Moscow after a Russian missile attack on Kyiv killed 12 civilians yesterday.

Vitaliy Shevchenko
Russia editor, BBC Monitoring

Image source, EPA

Russian foreign ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova has described the killing of General Yaroslav Moskalik as an act of terror.

State news agency Tasss quotes her as telling journalists: “The main issue is stopping the conflict at the heart of Europe and the world. We see so many victims every day. Even today, a member of the Russian military was killed as a result of a terrorist attack in Moscow.”

Vitaliy Shevchenko
Russia editor, BBC Monitoring

Image source, Reuters

The meeting between Putin and Witkoff lasted three hours and was constructive - says Putin aide Yuri Ushakov, who attended the meeting.

Among other issues, they discussed the possibility of direct talks between Russia and Ukraine, he says.

The talks have brought Russia's and US positions closer not just on Ukraine but other issues as well, Ukashov says, adding that productive dialogue between Russia and the US will continue on various levels.

Vitaliy Shevchenko
Russia editor, BBC Monitoring

The Kremlin has issued a brief statement suggesting that the meeting between Putin and Witkoff has ended.

It says Russian presidential aide Yuri Ushakov and head of the Russian sovereign wealth fund Kirill Dmitriev were also in attendance.

The statement contains no assessment of the outcome of the meeting.

Meanwhile, we've just heard that two civilians have been killed after a Ukrainian drone struck a car in Russia's Belgorod region, the local governor says.

Vyacheslav Gladkov says one person was critically injured in the attack. Ukraine has not yet commented on the claim.

Witkoff's elevated status clear in Moscow meetingpublished at 15:31 British Summer Time 25 April

15:31 BST 25 April

Anthony Zurcher
North America correspondent

Image source, EPA

Steve Witkoff may not be US secretary of state, but he sure is acting like it – and that appears to be exactly what Donald Trump wants.

The real estate developer has the president’s trust, in a way that the Florida politician, former rival and actual Secretary of State Marco Rubio does not.

When the stakes are highest, such as today’s negotiations over the Ukraine War in Moscow, it is Witkoff, not Rubio, who has taken the lead.

The same is true with the recent high-level negotiations with Iran over its nuclear programme and multi-party efforts in the Middle East to end the Gaza War. So far there haven’t been any public indications that Rubio and his State Department team are unhappy by Witkoff’s prominent role.

There haven’t been any reports of dust-ups, as there were between Rubio and agency-slashing Doge head Elon Musk.

For the first time perhaps since adviser of national security Henry Kissinger’s elevated status early in Richard Nixon’s presidency, however, it’s seems clear that the US secretary of state is not America’s top diplomat.

Image source, Getty Images

As we mentioned earlier, Reuters news agency reports that it has seen two separate documents – one from the US and one from Europe and Ukraine – with differing visions on what an end to the Ukraine war might look like:

• A security guarantee: Both proposals outline a security guarantee, but Europe and Ukraine's seems to go further than the US. It puts forward a collective security arrangement inspired by Nato's Article 5, which requires member countries to treat an attack on one member as an attack on all
• Return of children and prisoners: Only Europe and Ukraine's text asks for the return of Ukrainian children taken illegally to Russian-controlled territory, as well as an exchange of all prisoners of war
• Territorial recognition: The US proposal explicitly lays out US recognition of Ukrainian territory Russia has annexed, including Crimea, Luhansk, Donetsk, Zaporizhzhia, and Kherson – the five regions Witkoff has suggested are key to peace
• Reconstruction and compensation: Both texts propose Ukraine is rebuilt and compensated for Russia's invasion, but the US proposal does not mention by who. Europe and Ukraine's text explicitly says frozen Russian assets will be used until it pays full compensation

Vitaliy Shevchenko
Russia editor, BBC Monitoring

Image source, EPA

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky urges more pressure on Russia as talks between Donald Trump’s envoy Steve Witkoff and Vladimir Putin continue in the Kremlin.

In a statement posted on social media, he says Russia used a North Korean missile in yesterday's attack on Kyiv, which resulted in the death of 12 civilians.

“Insufficient pressure on Russia allows them to import such missiles and other weapons and use them here, in Europe," the Zelensky writes.

"Insufficient pressure on North Korea and its allies allows them to make such ballistic missiles. The missile that killed the Kyiv residents contained at least 116 parts imported from other countries, and most of them, unfortunately, were made by US companies," he adds.

He adds that it's been 45 days since Ukraine agreed to Trump’s proposal for "quiet in the sky, sea and the frontline".

“Russia rejects all this. Without pressure, this cannot be resolved. Pressure on Russia is necessary.”

Image source, EPA

Speaking to reporters before flying to Rome for the funeral of Pope Francis, Trump says the US and Russia are close to reaching a deal, while special envoy Steve Witkoff meets Vladimir Putin in Moscow.

Trump says: "I think in the end we're going to end up with a lot of good deals... We're going to try to get out of wars so that we can save 5,000 people a week.

"And that's what my aim is. I want to save 5,000 young men - they happen to be mostly Ukrainian, Russian - 5,000 Ukrainian and Russian men, and that's a big honour if I can do it. And I think we're pretty close."

Trump did not share where he got that figure from.

In recent days, Trump has accused Ukraine's President Zelensky of harming peace talks by not recognising Russian control of Crimea. Yesterday, he urged Putin to "STOP!" and "get a deal DONE".

Vitaliy Shevchenko
Russia editor, BBC Monitoring

As a matter of policy, Ukraine never officially admits or claims responsibility for targeted attacks such as the one which killed General Yaroslav Moskalik this morning.

However, there are several reasons to suspect Ukrainian involvement.

In the past, unnamed sources within Ukrainian security services told the media, including the BBC, that they were behind similar assassinations, such as the killing of Gen Igor Kirillov in December 2024. Named officials, though, never went on the record.

Kyiv is clearly interested in eliminating key implementers and supporters of the war against Ukraine - both for practical purposes, and also as a way of intimidating other members of the Russian political and military elite.

Within Russia, there does not appear to be a force willing and able to carry out such attacks.

They require sophistication and resource that is more likely to be available to a foreign state player such as Ukraine.

We're starting to see footage of investigators at the scene of the car bomb that killed Russian General Yaroslav Moskalik.

He is the latest Russian military commander or pro-Kremlin figure believed to have been targeted by Ukrainians inside Russia.