Donald Trump’s NATO ambassador has told the UK and other allies that they must agree to increase defence spending significantly “starting now”. Follow the latest below and watch as defence ministers meet at NATO HQ – where Volodymyr Zelenskyy has made a new ceasefire proposal.
Wednesday 4 June 2025 17:18, UK
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We’re now hearing from Ukraine’s defence minister, Rustem Umerov.
He says today’s meeting “marked a new stage in our joint efforts”.
“Ukraine’s military needs are the most important factor for us, I always stress this in our conversations with partners,” he says.
“Our partners came to me and asked if Ukrainian companies could build factories for producing cutting edge products in their countries… our partners said that they are willing to fully pay for all the production.”
Umerov tells the group that “together, we are not only defending freedom, we are shaping the future of Rammstein defence”.
He adds: “I’m grateful to my very good friends, peace in Ukraine must be lasting and protected by international unity.”
UK Defence Secretary John Healey is up first, and starts by warning of a “significant shift” in Russia’s recent strikes on Ukraine.
“Russia is routinely firing more than 300 drones a day into Ukraine… cities hit, homes destroyed and civilians killed,” he says.
“The United States and all of us here are calling for a ceasefire. Putin continues the war.”
Healey tells the Ukraine Defence Contact Group “we must step up, we must never step back”.
“President Zelenskyy and minister Umerov leave this meeting knowing that we stand with them, knowing that we will stand with them for as long as it takes,” he adds.
“Peace through strength is what President Trump calls for… we send a message today also to Moscow that Ukraine is strong, it has many friends that stand with them.”
Back to the Ukraine Defence Contact Group meeting in Brussels, where the defence ministers of the UK, Germany and Ukraine are holding a joint press conference.
You can follow along in the live stream at the top of this page. We’ll also be providing text updates.
The comments we’ve been bringing you out of Russia this afternoon are an indication that it is “still seething” after Ukraine’s series of recent attacks, our Moscow correspondent Ivor Bennett said.
But the key question now turns to where this leaves peace negotiations, after the most recent round of talks between Russia and Ukraine was held on Monday.
“Not much has been achieved yet after two rounds of face-to-face talks in Istanbul, only the promise of a second prisoner swap and now the exchange of dead soldiers,” he said.
“But judging by Vladimir Putin’s comments today and Sergei Ryabkov (see previous post), it feels like a ceasefire and a peace deal just got that much further away.”
Speaking about his question to Ryabkov – which you can watch in our previous post – Bennett said “all options are on the table” when it comes to a response from Russia.
He added that Moscow has sought to downplay the impact of Ukraine’s attack on multiple Russian airbases over the weekend.
“It is, of course, an embarrassing breach of their air defences,” he said.
“There’s been very little coverage of the attack here in the media, and it took the Kremlin nearly 48 hours to respond.”
Watch his full analysis in the video below.
We’ve had the first on-camera comments from Moscow responding to the series of Ukrainian attacks deep inside Russia.
“Those outrageous criminal acts of the Kyiv regime definitely point to further escalation,” Russia’s deputy foreign minister Sergei Ryabkov told our Moscow correspondent Ivor Bennett.
Watch his full reaction in the video below.
While Volodymyr Zelenskyy remotely addressed the Ukraine Defence Contact Group meeting in Brussels, his chief of staff has been with the US secretary of state.
Andriy Yermak has taken to social media site X to post pictures of him greeting Marco Rubio in Washington.
“We discussed the situation on the front lines and the urgent need to strengthen support for Ukraine’s air defence,” he wrote.
“We also exchanged views on the meetings with the Russians in Istanbul, the further course of negotiations, the upcoming prisoner exchange, and the importance of bringing back all hostages and children abducted by Russia.”
He said that he emphasised during talks that Ukraine has done “everything possible to achieve peace” and is ready for a ceasefire, but Russia “refuses”.
“That is why additional sanctions are necessary,” he added.
We’re hearing more out of Russia now, with more detailed comments from Vladimir Putin.
He has labelled the explosions at bridges in the Bryansk and Kursk regions (see 15.03 post) as terror attacks aimed at wrecking peace negotiations.
“They [Ukraine] are asking for a summit meeting,” Putin said.
But he went on to ask how such meetings can be held “in these conditions” after Ukraine’s latest attacks.
“What is there to talk about? How can we negotiate with those who rely on terror?” he added.
Ukraine would no doubt reply that Putin did not mention the fact his forces continue to launch air strikes and drone attacks on Ukrainian towns and cities – which would also suggest the Russian side aren’t ready for serious peace talks.
At least seven people were killed and 122 were injured after two rail bridges in regions bordering Ukraine collapsed late on Saturday, the chair of the Investigative Committee of Russia has said.
He also said five improvised explosives were detonated at the Kerch Bridge in the annexed Crimea region.
Ukraine also launched a surprise attack on multiple Russian airbases on Sunday, hitting more than 40 bombers deep inside the country.
It said the attack was targeting military aircraft responsible for carrying out strikes on Ukrainian towns and cities, with Russia recently ramping up its strikes.
Some lines to bring you from Russia’s foreign minister now, who has been speaking about the latest round of talks between Russia and Ukraine in Istanbul.
Sergei Lavrov has said there has been a real move forward in talks, adding that the process of direct talks is working with both rounds producing concrete results.
He said that Volodymyr Zelenskyy refused a proposal for a pause lasting two to three days to pick up the bodies of killed servicemen.
As we’ve explained, Ukraine’s president has been calling for a longer ceasefire and most recently proposed a pause until a meeting with Putin takes place (see 14.47 post).
Lavrov added that Russia should not fall for what he called Ukraine’s criminal provocations, and should use all means, including negotiations, to achieve the goals of the “military operation” in Ukraine.
“I agree with this,” Putin said in response.
At least 122 people were injured and seven people killed after two rail bridges in Russian areas bordering Ukraine collapsed late on Saturday, the chair of the Investigative Committee of Russia has said.
Alexander Bastrykin said the explosions were “acts of terror”.
He also said five improvised explosives were detonated at the Kerch Bridge in the annexed Crimea region.
Bastrykin said the evidence points to all three acts being organised by Ukrainian special forces.
Ukraine’s special forces, the SBU, had already claimed the attack on the bridge.
Watch: Explosion on Kerch Bridge
Before Volodymyr Zelenskyy addressed the Ukraine Defence Contact Group moments ago (see 14.22 post), he spoke at a briefing in Kyiv.
Ukraine’s president put forward the idea of a ceasefire until a meeting between him and Vladimir Putin takes place.
“My proposal, which I believe our partners can support, is that we propose to Russians a ceasefire until the leaders meet,” he said.
It comes after the second meeting between Ukrainian and Russian officials in Istanbul, which was held on Monday.
Zelenskyy has been calling for a longer ceasefire between the two sides. But while the meeting ended in another agreement on a prisoner exchange, little progress appears to have been made on a ceasefire.
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The body which runs Nigeria's university-entrance exams has admitted to a "technical glitch" which compromised some results of this year's tests, after nearly 80% of students got low grades.
Students have complained about not being able to log in to the computers, questions not showing up and power cuts making it impossible to take the examinations.
The low pass rate has sparked widespread outrage, especially after one candidate took her own life.
Faith Opesusi Timileyin, 19, who was aspiring to study microbiology at university, died after swallowing poison, her family said.
Her father and elder sister told the BBC that she had sat the exam for the second time and got 146 marks out of 400, lower than the 193 she had last year.
"The pain made her take her own life," her father, Oluwafemi Opesusi, told BBC Pidgin.
Generally 200 or above out of 400 is enough to get a place in university in the exams run by the Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board (Jamb).
Only 400,000 of the 1.9 million students achieved that mark, one of the worst performances in recent years.
Following a public outcry, Jamb says that students in some areas will be able to retake their exams.
One student, Favour Eke, told BBC Igbo that 10 of the 165 questions didn't appear on the screen – all she could see was the multiple choice options for the answers.
"We were told to omit the blank questions and continue the exam but it was very hard to concentrate after that," she said.
She has also experienced technical problems getting her results, meaning she is very unlikely to get into university this year – the third time she has taken the exams.
She sat the test in the capital, Abuja, which is not one of the centres where students can retake their exams, leaving her completely distraught.
Another student said he had trouble logging in to the computer before someone else's profile mysteriously appeared on the screen, showing different questions and then the machine briefly shut down completely.
"I did not get to answer all the questions when they told us our time was up because a lot of my time was wasted due to those technical difficulties," he said.
The exams body has apologised for the "painful damage" and "the trauma that it has subjected affected Nigerians".
In a press conference, Jamb registrar Ishaq Oloyede broke down in tears as he apologised.
He announced that almost 380,000 candidates in 157 affected centres from a total of 887, would be able to retake their exams starting from Saturday.
The zones that are most affected are Lagos and several states in the south-east.
Jamb blamed a failure of the computer system to upload exam responses by candidates in these areas during the first days of the exams.
It said an "unusual level of public concerns and loud complaints" had "prompted us to do an immediate audit or review". Ordinarily, this would have happened in June, it said.
The national exam, known as the Unified Tertiary Matriculation Examination (UTME), is a computer-based test that is a requirement for those joining universities and other tertiary institutions.
The 2025 test, which was conducted in March, was marred by disruptions due to power outages in some areas.
The head of the exams body earlier this week defended the poor results, saying they reflected the "true academic abilities" of the students and were because of a clampdown on cheating.
Many Nigerians on social media have been calling for accountability, with some seeking Oloyede's resignation.
Opposition figure Peter Obi said that while the admission of fault was commendable, the issue raised "a very concerning issue on glitches and the grave havoc" in critical institutions.
Rights activist Rinu Oduala said it was "incompetence. It's educational sabotage. He should be arrested immediately."
Additional reporting by Chukwunaeme Obiejesi, Andrew Gift, Madina Maishanu and Marvelous Obomanu in Nigeria
Go to BBCAfrica.com for more news from the African continent.

Follow us on Twitter @BBCAfrica, on Facebook at BBC Africa or on Instagram at bbcafrica
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DODOMA: DELEGATES from the High Courts of Ghana and Nigeria have praised Tanzania’s legal system for enabling the Office of the Attorney General (AG), the Director of Public Prosecutions, and the Solicitor General to operate independently, enhancing dispense justice without conflict of interest.
The delegates from the two West African states, who are in the country for a five-day training visit, described the setup as “a model worth emulating.”
Speaking shortly after welcoming the delegation in Dodoma, Attorney General Mr Hamza Johari expressed appreciation for the visit, which aimed to explore the workings of the AG’s office and to identify areas of learning that the visiting countries could adopt.
“This is a learning tour on their part. We have done our best to provide the information they needed, and I’m glad they are satisfied with what they’ve seen,” said Mr Johari.
The delegation also included Ms Mariya Badeva, Director of AfricanLII and Laws and Mr Muhamet Brahimi, a representative of GIZ Regional Programme for the Rule of Law and Judiciaries in Africa.
The AG extended his gratitude to GIZ for supporting the Tanzanian Legal Information Institute (TanzLII) project — a free online legal platform that provides open access to Tanzanian legal information including court judgments, laws, and other legal documents.
“This is a very important project in our legal system. The progress made in updating the system is commendable, but the most crucial thing now is sustainability,” Mr Johari emphasized.
He assured GIZ of continued support and sustainability of the TanzLII platform even after donor support winds down.
ALSO READ: Parliamentary budget committee applauds Judiciary’s ICT reforms
“You started well with us, and we are on the right track. Together with the Judiciary, we have put in place sustainable mechanisms, including funding, to ensure TanzLII continues to operate and make laws easily accessible to the public,” he said.
TanzLII was launched in 2018 and, as of June 2, 2025, hosts a robust collection of 65,815 court judgments from the Court of Appeal and various High Court divisions.
In 2024, the Judiciary launched a digitization initiative targeting historical judgments dating back to 1980.
By August that year, 5,424 High Court decisions and 1,430 Court of Appeal rulings from the Dar es Salaam Zone had been successfully digitised.
Head of Delegation from Ghana, Lady Justice Jennifer Abena Dadzie, hailed the collaboration between Tanzania and AfricanLII as a vital step in advancing justice delivery across the continent.
“I’m pleased to be here because collaboration is key in achieving efficient justice delivery,” she said.
“We came here because we were informed about TanzLII’s success in uploading judgments to ease access to justice, and indeed, Tanzania is doing it very well.”
She added that Ghana recently joined AfricanLII through a project with GhaLII and GIZ.
“We have not gone so far, but we have made great strides. Judgments of judges in Ghana are now available at the click of a button, thanks to this initiative,” she said.
“On behalf of our Chief Justice, we are grateful for the opportunity given to Ghana to be part of this transformation in justice delivery through the use of technology.”
On his part, the Director of Studies at the National Judicial Institute in Abuja, Nigeria, Gilbert Tor described the Tanzanian experience as “enlightening,” particularly with regard to the independence of the AG’s office.
“This has been an eye-opener. The separation of the Attorney General from the Ministry of Justice is something we think can be beneficial to Nigeria,” he said.
He added that Nigeria is keen to collaborate with Tanzania on judicial training programmes.
“We hope to explore exchange programmes where judges from Tanzania can come to Nigeria and vice versa, so that both countries can benefit from shared expertise and training,” he said.
The visit is part of a broader initiative by AfricanLII and GIZ to strengthen rule of law and improve judicial transparency across the African continent through digital tools and regional partnerships.
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