France’s president, Emmanuel Macron; the new German chancellor, Friedrich Merz; the British prime minister, Keir Starmer; and the Polish prime minister, Donald Tusk, started their visit to Kyiv with a solemn tribute to the thousands of Ukrainian soldiers killed in battle, laying flowers at a makeshift memorial at the heart of the capital.

The leaders of Britain, France, Germany and Poland met Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy for talks in Kyiv on Saturday in a show of unity a day after Russia's Vladimir Putin hosted his allies at a Victory Day parade in Red Square.

The leaders of four European countries have arrived in Kyiv as calls intensify for Russia to agree to a monthlong ceasefire in the war