A former Tory MP who lost his seat at the general election last year has joined the Ukrainian International Legion to help in the fight against Vladimir Putin’s Russia.

Jack Lopresti, a former deputy chair of the Conservative Party, was previously the MP for Filton and Bradley Stoke in Gloucestershire, but is now based in Kyiv using his skills in the ongoing war.

As an MP, Mr Lopresti visited Ukraine and was a strong advocate in parliament for more aid to be given to Volodymyr Zelensky to support the country’s efforts to defeat Russia. He has also served in the UK Army Reserve as a corporal.

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Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates are seen by Russia as possible venues for a summit between US president Donald Trump and Russian president Vladimir Putin, two Russian sources with knowledge of the discussions told Reuters.

Mr Trump has said he will end the war in Ukraine as soon as possible and said he is ready to meet with Putin. Mr Putin congratulated Mr Trump on his election and stated he is ready to meet the US leader to discuss Ukraine and energy.

Russian officials have repeatedly denied any direct contact with the US about preparations for a phone call between Mr Trump and Mr Putin, which would precede an eventual meeting later this year.

However, senior Russian officials have visited both Saudi Arabia and the UAE in recent weeks, according to the Russian sources, who spoke on condition of anonymity due to the sensitivity of the situation.

One source said there was still some opposition to the idea in Russia as some diplomats and intelligence officials were pointing to the close military and security links that both the Kingdom and the UAE have with the United States.

Competing claims emerged over a deadly attack on a boarding school in Sudzha, a city in Russia’s Kursk region that has been under Ukrainian control for five months, with Ukraine and Russia accusing each other of carrying out the strike.

The General Staff of Ukraine’s Armed Forces said Saturday night that four people were killed and a further four seriously wounded in the strike, with 84 people rescued by Ukrainian servicemen from the rubble of the building. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said that Moscow had bombed the boarding school where civilians were sheltering and preparing to evacuate.

The General Staff said those in need of additional medical assistance were evacuated to medical facilities in Ukraine.

The Russian Ministry of Defense claimed in the early hours of Sunday that it was Ukrainian forces that had launched a missile strike on the school, saying that the missiles were launched from Ukraine’s Sumy region.

Russian forces are intensifying their offensive around the strategically vital Ukrainian city of Pokrovsk, threatening key supply lines and raising concerns about a potential encirclement.

The city, a crucial logistical hub in eastern Ukraine, has become a focal point in the nearly three-year-long conflict.

While Ukrainian defenders are fiercely resisting the Russian advance, the situation in Pokrovsk grows increasingly precarious. The city’s main supply routes are under constant threat, with Russian troops encroaching from multiple directions.

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French president Emmanuel Macron said on Monday that Russia’s invasion of Ukraine and the policies of US president Donald Trump were pushing Europe to take more responsibility for its own physical and economic security.

Macron made the comments as he arrived at a gathering of European Union leaders in Brussels to discuss relations with the United States and bolstering Europe’s military defences.

The start of the summit was overshadowed by Trump declaring at the weekend that he will soon impose tariffs on imports from the EU, having just ordered similar measures on goods from Canada, Mexico and China.

Arriving leaders warned Trump against starting a trade war and said the EU would retaliate if he did so.

Macron said Trump’s policies were one of several factors pushing the EU to become less dependent on others.

“The COVID epidemic and the Russian aggression in Ukraine were moments of awakening,” Macron told reporters.

“What’s happening at this very moment today in Ukraine, what’s happening also now with the choices, the declarations of the new American administration of President Trump pushes the Europeans to be more united, more active to respond on subjects of their collective security,” he said.

This meant boosting Europe’s defence industry and buying more European arms, Macron said.

The father of an 18-year-old British volunteer who was killed by a Russian drone while on his first mission fighting in Ukraine has paid tribute, saying his son was a “polite, likeable young man”.

James Wilton, from Huddersfield, West Yorkshire, left college and travelled to join international fighters, against the wishes of his mother and sisters, because he wanted to make a difference and to help those suffering from the war.

He was killed in July in a drone attack when crossing open ground with a heavy pack on his back and could not be saved, despite the efforts of his friend, an American volunteer named Jason.

Mr Wilton’s father Graham said: “My son James had only just turned 18 when he decided he wanted to go volunteer and fight in Ukraine. I didn’t necessarily agree with his decision on this but we talked at length about why he wanted to do this.

“He’d just finished college and wasn’t really sure about what he wanted from life. But from our conversations he made it clear to me that this was what he wanted to do.

“So I did everything I possibly could to make sure he knew exactly what was involved and that he could be fully prepared for what may lay ahead.

“James was a polite, likeable young man and never really had a bad word to say about anyone or anything. I made sure he was as prepared as he could be before I took him to Manchester Airport for his flight to Krakow.

“I also told him to speak with his sisters and his mother before he left, which he did, but they were dead set against him going. But James made his mind up and he would’ve gone regardless, so he had my blessing and knew I was here if he needed me.”

A pro-Putin paramilitary leader was killed in a bomb blast in the lobby of a luxury apartment building in Moscow, according to Russian authorities and news reports.

Armen Sarkisyan, who Ukraine has accused of aiding Russia’s war in Donetsk, was targeted in the attack; he was critically injured in the blast and later died in hospital, according to the Kommersant newspaper.

Another person was killed and three others injured in the blast. State news agency Tass cited an unidentified law enforcement source as saying a bomb was planted in the building.

In December, Sarkisyan – who also ran a boxing federation – was charged in absentia by the Security Service of Ukraine with participation in illegal armed or paramilitary formations or assisting such formations in combat operations against its armed forces.

The agency, known as the SBU, has previously accused Sarkisyan of recruiting prisoners to fight in Ukraine, cooperating with Russian security forces, and creating an armed formation known as “ArBAT” – or “Armenian Battalion”.

Moldova has denounced what it said was a violation of its airspace by a drone and said it was discussing with its allies how to boost air defences, having suffered numerous such violations as a result of Russia’s war.

A foreign ministry statement did not identify the origin of the drone, but said it entered Moldovan airspace overnight. Moldova’s defence ministry said the drone entered the country’s airspace from Ukraine, remained for a brief time, and then went back over Ukrainian territory.

“Such actions are unacceptable and represent a potential threat to national security and our citizens,” the foreign ministry said.

“In this context, Moldova is analysing the circumstances of the incident and is engaging in active dialogue with international partners to prevent a similar situation and strengthen the defences of (our) airspace.”