Pope ‘ready’ to host peace talks while EU urges Trump to hit Putin with sanctions - UK and EU announce new wave of sanctions, with British measures alone affecting 100 entities and individuals

Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni said in a statement on Tuesday that Pope Leo had confirmed during a phone call with her his willingness to host in the Vatican the next round of negotiations to try to end the war between Russia and Ukraine.

Russia is still refusing to sign up to an unconditional comprehensive ceasefire. It has no intention of returning any of the Ukrainian land it has seized, occupied and claims to have annexed. On the contrary: it's pushing for more.

As peace talks ramp up, experts and officials are already working on a looming post-war threat: the potential large-scale proliferation of guns in Ukraine once they are no longer needed on the battlefield.