Territorial disagreements remain key sticking points as Russia and Ukraine tentatively advance peace negotiations.

Russia currently occupies 20 per cent of Ukraine, and wants further control over more of major regions including Donbas and Donetsk.

Several countries and high-profile individuals are involved in the discussions, which have resulted in public disagreements. The Independent looks at some of the key characters below.

Belgium’s prime minister Bart De Wever has said that the European Union’s plan to use frozen Russian assets to fund Ukraine could endanger a peace deal.

The plan to use €140b in frozen Russian assets has failed to secure Belgium’s backing after De Wever has repeatedly expressed concern about the scheme.

“Hastily moving forward on the proposed reparations loan scheme would have, as collateral damage, that we as EU are effectively preventing reaching an eventual peace deal,” De Wever said in a letter to European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen, according to the Financial Times.

An EU spokesperson said “intensive discussions” remain ongoing.

“The investigators are facing no obstacles” the former film producer wrote on Telegram. “They were given full access to the apartment, my lawyers are on site, interacting with law enforcement officers. For my part, I fully cooperate.”

Hungary’s prime minister Viktor Orban has landed in Moscow to meet with Russian president Vladimir Putin.

The leaders will discuss energy, with Hungary heavily reliant on Russian oil, as well as ongoing negotiations with Ukraine.

Britain said talks to join the European Union’s defence fund, SAFE, had broken down in a statement on Friday.

“While it is disappointing that we have not been able to conclude discussions on UK participation in the first round of SAFE, the UK defence industry will still be able to participate in projects through SAFE on third country terms,” said Nick Thomas-Symonds, Britain's minister for European Union Relations.

“Negotiations were carried out in good faith, but our position was always clear: we will only sign agreements that are in the national interest and provide value for money.”

Romania’s defence minister Ionut Mosteanu resigned on Friday after it was revealed he had lied about his studies in his resume.

Mosteanu wrote a statement on Facebook, saying: “Romania and Europe are under Russia's assault. Our national security must be protected at all cost.

“I do not want discussions about my education and mistakes I made years ago to distract those who lead the country now from their hard mission.”

Members of the Ukrainian and US delegations are to meet this week to work out a formula discussed at talks in Geneva to bring peace and provide security guarantees for Kyiv, Volodymyr Zelensky has said.

"Our team, together with American representatives, will meet at the end of this week to continue to bring closer the points we have as a result of (talks in) Geneva in a form that will lead us on the path to peace and security guarantees," Zelensky said in his nightly video address.

"There will be a meeting of delegations. The Ukrainian delegation will be well prepared and focused on meaningful work,” he said.

President Volodymyr Zelensky’s “right-hand man” Andriy Yermak is reportedly deeply unpopular in Ukraine.

The Ukrainian politician currently serves as Zelensky’s chief of staff and has a background in film production.

Pro-democracy watchdogs and lawmakers have implicated Yermak in a $100m energy scandal. Anti-corruption agencies have said he is not involved.

In 2024, Time named Yermak as one of the 100 most influential people in the world. He is a member of the highest command and control body for Ukraine’s armed forces, the headquarters of the Supreme Commander-in-Chief.

When Olena Horlova leaves home or drives through town outside the southern Ukrainian city of Kherson, she fears that she's a target. She believes that Russian drones could be waiting on a rooftop, along the road or aiming for her car.

To protect herself and her two daughters, the girls stay indoors, and she stays alert — sometimes returning home at night along dark roads without headlights so as not to be seen.

After living through the occupation, refusing to cooperate with Russian forces and hiding from them, Horlova, like so many other residents, found that even after her town was liberated in 2022, the ordeal didn't end.