President Nauseda goes on to say that a "crucial" goal over the coming months will be to "substantially increase" military to Ukraine.

He says this will ensure "deterrence on the ground" and help "prepare conditions" for future peace negotiations.

"Ukraine’s power must be significantly strengthened and it now falls primarily on Europeans and Ukraine’s closest neighbours and friends to make it happen," he adds.

We're now hearing from Lithuanian President Gitanas Nauseda, who is speaking at a Nato news conference after a summit in the Lithuanian capital of Vilnius.

He says we must "unify our efforts in the face of the Russian threat", adding that he believe allies will be ready to increase investment on defence.

Nauseda says Lithuania is spending 4% of GDP this year but this will increase to more than 5% from the next year to 2030. He adds he expects the rest of the alliance will follow this upward trend.

As a reminder, you can follow the news conference by clicking Watch live at the top of the page.

We can now bring you more lines from Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan's remarks in his opening address at the Ciragan Palace in Istanbul.

He says US for the Russia-Ukraine talks is "extremely important".

"[President Donald Trump's] determination to establish peace has opened a new window of opportunity," he adds. "The main thing is to ensure a sustainable peace."

Image source, Reuters

Earlier we brought you the details of a proposed US law that would impose fresh sanctions on Russia.

Now, it has emerged that the European Commission president met the US senator sponsoring that bill just this morning.

Ursula von der Leyen and Lindsey Graham met in Berlin to discuss "EU-US coordination" on sanctions, according to a summary of the meeting, external released by the European Commission.

It said: "The President made the objective clear: We need a real ceasefire, we need Russia at the negotiating table, and we need to end this war.

"Pressure works, as the Kremlin understands nothing else."

Face-to-face peace talks between Russia and Ukraine are under way in Istanbul. Delegations from both countries and hosts Turkey arrived at Ciragan Palace just before 13:00 local time (11:00 BST).

This is the second time the countries have held direct talks in three years.

The first meeting, just last month, lasted less than two hours and yielded no significant progress towards a lasting ceasefire.

There is little hope of a breakthrough today, writes our correspondent in Istanbul Hugo Bachega, as both countries remain far apart on how to bring the war to an end.

Ukrainian President Zelensky, who is at a Nato summit in Lithuania, has said "strong, new sanctions are urgently needed" on Russia from the US and the EU if the talks “bring nothing”.

The talks come after Kyiv launched a series of major strikes on air bases deep inside Russia on Sunday, and as both countries continued to trade strikes overnight.

Stay with us as we bring you the latest this afternoon.

Image source, Reuters

In Istanbul, Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan has begun the meeting by giving an opening address.

In it, he expresses his wish that the negotiations today be "fruitful" and underlines that frequent meetings are beneficial for both sides.

He says he hopes that there will be "concrete" progress and that the two countries benefit from today's opportunity.

Vitaliy Shevchenko
Russia editor, reporting from Istanbul

The talks in Istanbul have started.

Importantly, they started with Turkish FM Hakan Fidan and intelligence service chief Ibrahim Kalin - even though Russia said earlier they did not need mediators.

Image source, EPA

We can now bring you details of a t statement following the Vilnius summit with the leaders of Nato's eastern and Nordic which President Zelensky has attended.

A statement signed by the Presidents of Lithuania, Poland and Romania reiterates their "condemnation" for Russia's invasion of Ukraine.

"We stand firm on Allied decision and commitment regarding Ukraine’s irreversible path to full Euro-Atlantic integration, including NATO hip," the statement adds.

"Ukraine has the right to choose its own security arrangements and to decide its own future, free from outside interference."

We are expecting to hear a press conference following this summit shortly. When it begins you'll be able to follow along by clicking Watch Live above.

Talks between Russia and Ukraine in Istanbul have begun.

Once we hear any developments we'll bring them to you here - stay with us.

Scarlett Barter
Reporting from Istanbul

BBC Ukrainian's Dmytro Vlasov, who is travelling with the Ukrainian delegation, says that Defence Minister Rustem Umerov was in talks with the Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan.

He has now left that meeting to the room where the Ukrainian delegation is.

Image source, Ukrainian Presidential Press Service

Today's Ukraine-Russia talks come just days after Republican Senator Lindsey Graham said the US Senate will move forward with a bill to impose fresh "bone-breaking" sanctions on Moscow.

The bill would put a 500% tariff on goods from countries still buying Russian gas, oil, uranium and other products.

"I would expect next week that the Senate will start moving the sanctions bill," he said after meeting Ukraine's President Zelensky last Friday.

The bill would need to both the House of Representatives and the Senate, and then be signed by President Donald Trump, who has recently shown frustration over Putin's actions in Ukraine.

Graham said the aim is to find bipartisan "for tools that would help President Trump get Putin to the peace table".

"These sanctions would do that," he added.

Image source, EPA

Let's bring you more of Volodymyr Zelensky's remarks from the summit in Lithuania.

Speaking about the Ukraine-Russia talks in Istanbul today, he says Kyiv is "ready to take the necessary steps for peace".

"Naturally, the starting point should be a ceasefire and humanitarian actions, the release of prisoners and the return of abducted children," he adds.

Zelensky warns that if the Istanbul talks "bring nothing", it means "strong, new sanctions are urgently needed" on Russia from the EU and the US.

"Specifically, the strongest sanctions President Trump promised," he says, adding that the sanctions should target Russia's energy and financial sector.

After more than three years of offensives and counter-offensives, Russian and Ukrainian forces are in a war of attrition on an active front line of more than 1,000km (629 miles).

Kyiv and Moscow likely hoping to keep Trump happypublished at 11:39 British Summer Time 2 June

11:39 BST 2 June

Liza Fokht
BBC Russian, reporting from Istanbul

Image source, Getty Images

There’s little hope the Russia-Ukraine talks in Istanbul will yield a breakthrough.

The atmosphere around the negotiations is far from promising.

Moscow has still not handed over a document outlining its demands - something Kyiv has said is essential for a productive meeting.

Meanwhile, Ukrainian proposals leaked yesterday by news agency Reuters are unlikely to satisfy Russia.

The mood in the Russian delegation has likely soured after recent successful Ukrainian strikes on airfields inside Russian territory.

At the same time, Ukraine continues to endure unprecedented drone attacks across its cities.

So why are both sides still showing up at Istanbul’s Ciragan Palace today?

Likely, to avoid angering US President Donald Trump, who sees the mere fact of the meeting as a personal diplomatic win.

Both Moscow and Kyiv are seeking to gain leverage through their relationship with the White House.

Skipping the talks could have risked straining ties with Washington DC.

Image source, EPA

As we've been reporting, Kyiv and Moscow continued to trade blows overnight.

We've been seeing images showing damage in Kharkiv, which Ukraine's armed forces says was one of the areas targeted overnight.

At least five people were injured, Kharkiv Mayor Ihor Terekhov said on messaging app Telegram early on Monday.

Image source, EPA

Image source, EPA

Image source, Reuters

Ukraine's President Zelensky is currently in Vilnius, Lithuania, for a summit with the leaders of Nato's eastern and Nordic .

The Ukrainian leader says there's a "real opportunity to try to end the war".

He describes this as "a special moment" and says:

Zelensky adds that he's grateful for "every investment in weapons production" and that both Europe and America together "have better weapons than Russia".

"We also have stronger tactical solutions, our Operation Spider's Web proved that," he says, referring to Kyiv's large-scale drone attack on military bases deep inside Russia on Sunday.

"Russia must feel what its losses mean. That is what will push it towards diplomacy," Zelensky adds.

Scarlett Barter
Reporting from Istanbul

The convoy of cars that brought the Ukrainians to the talks was significantly larger than the Russian convoy.

The Ukrainians travelled in a van, mini bus and two people carriers

Lots of men in military uniform were seen entering the palace.

Vitaliy Shevchenko
Russia editor, reporting from Istanbul

Image source, EPA

The hosts, the Turkish delegation, were the first to arrive, followed by the Russians (at about 12:40 local time) and the Ukrainians about seven minutes later.

The talks were scheduled to start at 13:00 local time (11:00 BST).

There is no time limit on how long they will last, but the previous round was less than two hours long.

The head of the Turkish intelligence service MIT Director İbrahim Kalın has also arrived at the venue.

Ukraine's deputy foreign minister Sergiy Kyslytsya has met with representatives of , Italy and the UK ahead of the meeting with Russia, according to Ukraine's foreign ministry spokesperson.

"The sides co-ordinated positions ahead of today's meeting between Ukrainian and Russian delegations," Ukraine Foreign Ministry spokesman Heorhiy Tykhy says.

He adds that Ukraine reiterated their agenda items, including a meeting between the leaders of the two countries and a full ceasefire.