In a significant development, US President Donald Trump has announced that he had a phone call with Russian President Vladimir Putin, and they agreed to start negotiations to end the war in Ukraine “immediately”. Both Trump and Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov confirmed that the two presidents also agreed to visit each other’s nations during the call.

According to Volodymyr Zelensky’s office, the Ukrainian president also spoke to his American counterpart in an hour-long phone call. While the development has been welcomed, security correspondent Frank Gardner noted that it “has been a bit of a cold shower for both Ukraine and Nato”.

Meanwhile, White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt is answering reporters’ questions in the briefing room. In a related development, a US House committee heard from witnesses about Elon Musk’s Department of Government Efficiency (Doge), after Trump signed an executive order to give more power to the body, which is not an official government agency.