Saudi Arabia, India and South Africa among countries opting out of Ukraine declaration – as it happened

Ukraine should “reflect” on Russian president Vladimir Putin’s call to withdraw its troops from the east and south of the country to open peace talks as its military situation is worsening, the Kremlin said on Sunday.

“The current dynamic of the situation at the front shows us clearly that it’s continuing to worsen for the Ukrainians,” Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov said, as Ukraine’s president Volodymyr Zelenskiy and world leaders met in Switzerland to discuss how to end the conflict.

“It’s probable that a politician who puts the interests of his country above his own and those of his masters would reflect on such a proposal,” Peskov said.

Zelensky and other leaders have rejected Putin’s demand that Ukraine pull its troops out of the east and south of the country and drop its bid for Nato membership, in order for Moscow to halt its offensive.

Peskov said it was not an “ultimatum” but “a peace initiative that takes into account the realities on the ground”.

Zelensky has pledged to make peace proposals once they have the backing of the international community at the talks in Burgenstock, Switzerland, to which Putin was not invited.

President of the European Council, Charles Michel has called the last week a “politically successful” one for Ukraine.

In a tweet, Michel said the G7 agreeing to use $50bn (£40bn) of Russian assets for a loan for Ukraine, the global commitment to uphold the UN charter at this weekend’s peace conference and the European Council’s green light for holding the first Intergovernmental Conference were all signs of a favourable week for Ukraine.

Right-wing Swiss politicians have criticised the country’s decision to host this weekend’s peace summit without inviting Russia, arguing it is damaging for Switzerland’s traditional neutrality, Reuters reports.

The right-wing nationalist Swiss Peoples’ Party (SVP), the biggest group in the lower house of parliament, says neutrality is an integral part of Switzerland’s prosperity, and it has initiated a referendum to embed the principle in the constitution.

Nils Fiechter, chief of the SVP’s youth wing, told Russian broadcaster RT: “Switzerland is ... allowing Ukraine to dictate who may or may not be invited to this conference and it is allowing it to turn into a Zelenskiy show.”

The Swiss government has said that Russia must be involved in the process but justified not inviting it on the grounds that Moscow had repeatedly said it had no interest in taking part.

The Kremlin has described Switzerland as “openly hostile” and unfit to mediate in peace-building efforts, in particular because of its adoption of EU sanctions against Moscow.

Several hundred LGBT Ukrainian servicemen and women and their supporters marched in central Kyiv today to demand more rights and highlight their service to their country in its war with Russia, AP reports.

The soldiers – many wearing rainbow and unicorn patches on their uniforms – called on the government to grant them official partnership rights. The march took places under a heavy police guard amid threats from counter protesters.

The role of LGBT members in the military has been credited with shifting public attitudes toward same-sex partnerships in the socially conservative country.

“We are ordinary people who are fighting on an equal footing with everyone else, but deprived of the rights that other people have,” Dmitriy Pavlov, a soldier who used a cane to walk, said.

Campaigners are seeking legal reforms to allow people in same-sex partnerships to take medical decisions for wounded soldiers and bury victims of the war.

They argue that an improvement in gay rights would create a further distinction between Ukraine and Russia, where LGBT rights are severely restricted.

Organisers faced hurdles in planning the rally. City authorities turned down a petition to allow it to be held at a metro station, and it was condemned by one of the main branches of the Ukrainian Orthodox church. Police set up cordons to keep the marchers clear of a counterdemonstration.

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Reuters reports that Russian president Vladimir Putin is not ruling out talks with Ukraine, but guarantees will be needed to ensure the credibility of any negotiations, citing Russian news agencies who quoted Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov.

Russia was not invited to this weekend’s peace summit, but leaders have not ruled out inviting Russia to subsequent peace talks.

Speaking at the summit today, Ukraine’s foreign minister Dmytro Kuleba hinted that Russia could be involved in a future summit, but dismissed Putin’s demand that Kyiv cede four regions of Ukraine that Russia has occupied and drop its goal of joining Nato.

“Of course we ... understand perfectly that a time will come when it will be necessary to talk to Russia,” he said. “But our position is very clear: We will not allow Russia to speak in the language of ultimatums like it is speaking now.”

Norway has announced that it will provide 1.1 billion kroner (£80m) to Ukraine to help repair its energy infrastructure and secure the country’s electricity supply before next winter, Reuters reports.

“Russia is carrying out massive, systematic attacks to paralyse the power grid, but Ukrainians are working day and night to maintain essential electricity supplies for the population,” prime minister Jonas Gahr Store said in a statement.

According to new estimates, more than 50% of Ukraine’s power production capacity has been destroyed, the government said.

“We are in close dialogue with Ukraine on how it can use these funds most effectively. The Ukrainians themselves have the best insight into what is needed,” Store said, adding that it was important to begin infrastructure repairs before the onset of winter.

Norway said it had already been decided that 120 million kroner would go toward repairs in the Kharkiv area, which has been hit particularly hard by Russian attacks recently.

Solar panels will be installed at seven maternity units and operating theatres in the Kharkiv area, Store said in the statement, which was issued as he attended the peace summit in Switzerland.

In 2022, Norway provided 2.1 billion kroner in funding to the Ukrainian energy sector, and 1.9 billion kroner last year.

The Scandinavian country has pledged 75 billion kroner in military and civilian aid to Ukraine for the five-year period 2023-2027, with funding allocated each year in line with Ukraine’s needs.

Austrian chancellor Karl Nehammer has said the final declaration at this weekend’s summit of world leaders aimed a paving the way for peace in Ukraine is not headed for unanimous support, Reuters reports.

Nehammer was speaking to reporters on the sidelines of the conference.

Earlier he posted a picture with Kenya’s president William Ruto, saying they had discussed the issue of food security in Africa in relation to the war in Ukraine.

AP provides some more detail on the hostage situation at a detention centre in Rostov, which ended when Russian special forces stormed the facility:

Security forces stormed a detention centre in southern Russia on Sunday, killing inmates who had taken two members of staff hostage, Russian state news agency RIA Novosti reported.

The hostages at the pre-trial detention centre were uninjured, said RIA Novosti, citing Russia’s Federal Penitentiary Service.

It said that the hostage takers had been “liquidated,” with other local news outlets reporting that at least some of the prisoners had been killed.

Earlier, state news agency Tass, citing unnamed sources in law enforcement, had said that six hostage takers were in the central courtyard of the detention centre, armed with a penknife, a rubber baton and a fire axe. The prisoners include men accused of links to the Isis.

Ukraine’s foreign minister Dmytro Kuleba has said the text of the final communique from this weekend’s peace summit is finished.

He said Kyiv’s positions have been considered and told reporters at the Buergenstock resort in Switzerland that the text was complete and “balanced.” He also said no alternative peace plans had been discussed at the two-day event.

The hostages held at a detention centre in Russia’s southern region of Rostov were released unharmed and their captors killed after special forces stormed the facility, Russia’s Interfax news agency said, citing Russia’s prison service.

It was not immediately clear how many of the six hostage-takers had been killed.