Good morning. After the shocking treatment he received at the White House on Friday, Volodymyr Zelenskyy was on friendlier turf yesterday – but whether a bear hug from Keir Starmer and an audience with King Charles will ultimately prove consequential for the war in Ukraine is still anyone’s guess.

The Ukrainian president was in the UK to attend a European summit, convened by Starmer, to take steps towards new proposals that might be able to find support in Kyiv and Washington alike. And while there were some signs of European unity, the White House and its surrogates were still suggesting that Zelenskyy was guilty of some sort of insult to the United States that might be enough to make a durable peace impossible. Last night, Zelenskyy refused to say whether he believed he had been ambushed – but said that he was ready to talk to Trump again.

An awful lot has happened in the last three days, and the dust is still settling. Today’s newsletter catches you up on the key developments, and what might happen next. Here are the headlines.

Five big stories

1. Gaza | Israel has cut off humanitarian supplies to Gaza in an effort to pressure Hamas into accepting a change in the ceasefire agreement to allow for the release of hostages without an Israeli troop withdrawal.

2. UK news | At least 25 undercover police officers formed sexual relationships with members of the public and deceived them about their true identity, the Guardian can disclose. The total equates to nearly a fifth of all the police spies who were sent to infiltrate political movements.

3. Religion | Pope Francis has thanked well-wishers for their support after missing his Sunday Angelus for the third week in a row as he remains in hospital with pneumonia. The pontiff, 88, was in a stable condition after a breathing crisis on Friday.

4. Sick pay | More than 1 million of the lowest-paid UK workers are to be guaranteed sick pay worth up to 80% of their weekly salary from the first day of sickness. The government says that 1.3 million of the UK’s lowest earners will be up to £100 a week better off.

5. Oscars 2025 | Low-budget comedy Anora has triumphed at this year’s Oscars winning five awards, including best picture and best actress, while Adrien Brody took home best actor for his role in The Brutalist. Scroll down for more of the Guardian’s coverage of the ceremony.

In depth: ‘We have to bridge this’

After the hugs, the handshakes and the above family photo, the European summit – also joined by Canada and Turkey – proceeded on quite different terms to the White House’s version of diplomacy on Friday: behind closed doors.

At the end of it, the attending leaders proclaimed that they were united in their support of Ukraine, and ready, in the words of the European Commission president, Ursula von der Leyen, to “rearm Europe” and turn Ukraine into “a steel porcupine that is indigestible for potential invaders”. Keir Starmer said that the continent was “at a crossroads in history”.

So what does that mean in practice – and how are Kyiv, the Kremlin and the White House responding to events of the last few days?

European conference | Big announcements but little detail

A litany of announcements followed the conclusion of the summit, led by Keir Starmer. He said that “a number” of allies had signed up to join the “coalition of the willing” ready to put troops on the ground in Ukraine, but said that he would leave it to those countries to set out their own commitments.

Starmer also announced a £1.6bn deal that would see a loan to Ukraine to buy 5,000 advanced air defence missiles from the UK. Meanwhile the Nato chief, Mark Rutte, said more European countries had said they were ready to increase defence spending, and Germany’s leader-in-waiting Friedrich Merz expressed support for a British “bomb bank” plan that would see up to £20bn in government funding multiplied by up to £200bn private capital for military investment.

It is notable that the most significant steps here lack the crucial public confirmation from those said to have made them. Starmer also claimed he still believes Trump remains open to working with Europe and Ukraine: “I spoke to President Trump last night,” he said. “I would not be taking this step down this road if I didn’t think it was something that would yield a positive outcome.”

Many will remain sceptical that the signals emerging from the White House corroborate those claims. This explainer from Dan Sabbagh sets out the challenges facing Europe in how to move forward on security without US support. And in this piece, Patrick Wintour explains that the next milestone will come at an EU summit this week, which will face the question of whether the bloc will release defence investment outside its general rules limiting debt. Be the first to know, follow our 9bet website for real-time updates.