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The UK and France have signed a declaration of intent on deploying troops in Ukraine if a peace deal is made with Russia, UK Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer has said.

After talks with Ukraine’s allies in Paris, he said the UK and France would “establish military hubs across Ukraine and build protected facilities for weapons and military equipment” to deter future invasion.

The allies also proposed that the US would take the lead in monitoring a ceasefire.

Russia has repeatedly warned that any foreign troops in Ukraine would be a “legitimate target”, but has not yet commented on the announcement.

Russian President Vladimir Putin launched a full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, and Moscow currently controls about 20% of Ukrainian territory.

Heads of state and top officials from the “Coalition of the Willing” took part in Tuesday’s talks in the French capital.

Speaking at a joint press conference after the meeting, Starmer said: “We signed a declaration of intent on the deployment of forces to Ukraine in the event of a peace deal.

“This is a vital part of our commitment to stand with Ukraine for the long-term.

“It paves the way for the legal framework under which British, French, and partner forces could operate on Ukrainian soil, securing Ukraine’s skies and seas, and regenerating Ukraine’s armed forces for the future,”

The UK prime minister added London would participate in any US-led verification of a potential ceasefire.

Top US negotiator Steve Witkoff said “durable security guarantees and robust prosperity commitments are essential to a lasting peace” in Ukraine – referring to a key demand made by Kyiv.

Witkoff said the allies “largely finished” their work on agreeing such guarantees “so that people of Ukraine know that when this [war] ends, it ends forever”.

Jared Kushner, US President Donald Trump’s special envoy and son-in-law, also took part in the negotiations.

Meanwhile, French President Emmanuel Macron said Ukraine’s allies had made “considerable progress” at the talks.

He said “robust” security guarantees for Kyiv had been agreed in the event of a potential ceasefire.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said a “huge step forward” had been made in Paris, but added that he would only consider efforts to be “enough” if they resulted in the end of the war.

Last week, Zelensky said a peace deal was “90% ready”. Agreeing on the remaining 10% would “determine the fate of peace, the fate of Ukraine and Europe”.

Territory and security guarantees have been at the forefront of unresolved issues for negotiators.

Putin has repeatedly warned that Ukrainian troops must withdraw from all of Ukraine’s eastern Donbas or Russia will seize it, rejecting any compromise over how to end the war.

Zelensky has so far ruled out ceding any territory, but has suggested that Ukraine could withdraw its troops to an agreed point – but only if Russia does the same.

Moscow currently controls about 75% of the Donetsk region, and some 99% of the neighbouring Luhansk. The two regions form the industrial region of Donbas.

The original US-led 28-point peace plan widely leaked to the media last year was seen by Kyiv and its European allies as being heavily skewed in Russia’s favour.

This triggered weeks of intensive high-level diplomacy – with Ukraine, the US and European leaders trying to amend the draft.

Last month, Kyiv sent the US an updated 20-point plan – as well as separate documents outlining potential security guarantees and provisions for Ukraine’s reconstruction, Zelensky said.

The US may act to seize a Russian-flagged oil tanker heading across the Atlantic to Europe, CBS News, the BBC’s media partner in the US, reported.

Two US officials told the broadcaster that American forces plan to intercept the ship, which historically has carried Venezuelan crude oil and is thought to be between Scotland and Iceland.

President Donald Trump said last month that he was ordering a “blockade” of sanctioned oil tankers entering and leaving Venezuela, a move the government there described as “theft”.

Ahead of his seizure of the country’s former leader Nicolás Maduro on Saturday, Trump had repeatedly accused Venezuela’s government of using ships to bring drugs to American shores.

The US coastguard tried to board the Bella 1 last month in the Caribbean when it was believed to be heading towards Venezuela.

They had obtained a warrant to seize the ship, accused of breaking US sanctions and shipping Iranian oil.

It then dramatically changed course, as well as its name to the Marinera, reportedly reflagging from a Guyanan to a Russian vessel.

Its approach to Europe has coincided with the arrival of around 10 US military transport aircraft in the UK as well as helicopters.

Russia says it is “monitoring with concern” the situation around the ship.

CBS News reported that the two US officials said American forces preferred to seize the ship rather than sink it.

The Marinera is believed to be between Scotland and Iceland, with the distance and weather making a boarding difficult.

If any US military operation were to be launched from the UK then Washington would be expected to inform its ally.

For now the UK Ministry of Defence says it will not comment on other nations’ military activities.

They suggested that the US could mount an operation like one conducted last month when US Marines and special operation forces working with the US Coast Guard seized The Skipper, a large crude oil tanker flagged out of Guyana, after the vessel left port in Venezuela.

AIS (automatic identification system) tracking data for the tanker, which can be spoofed or faked, suggests it was in the North Atlantic approximately 2,000km (1,200 miles) west of continental Europe on Tuesday.

Under international law, vessels flying a country’s flag are under the protection of that nation but Dimitris Ampatzidis, senior risk and compliance analyst at maritime intelligence firm Kpler, told BBC Verify changing the ship’s name and flag might not change much.

“US action is driven by the vessel’s underlying identity [IMO number], ownership/control networks, and sanctions history, not by its painted markings or flag claim,” he said.

Ampatzidis added that changing to the Russian registry might cause “diplomatic friction” but would not stop any US enforcement action.

Russia’s foreign ministry said it was “closely monitoring with concern the abnormal situation around the Russian oil tanker Marinera”.

“At present, our vessel is sailing in the international waters of the North Atlantic under the state flag of the Russian Federation and in full compliance with the norms of international maritime law,” it added.

“For reasons unclear to us, the Russian ship is being given increased and clearly disproportionate attention by the US and Nato military, despite its peaceful status,” it said.

“We expect that Western countries, which declare their commitment to freedom of navigation on the high seas, will begin adhering to this principle themselves.”

The potential stand-off over the oil tanker comes days after the US shocked the world by using military force to seize Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro, a Russian ally, from the capital Caracas.

It bombarded targets in the city during the operation to extricate him and his wife on suspicion of weapon and drug offences.

Doug LaMalfa, a Republican Congressman from California, has died unexpectedly at age 65, colleagues announced on Tuesday.

President Donald Trump offered a tribute to LaMalfa, saying he wanted “to express our tremendous sorrow at the loss of a great member – a great, great, great member”.

The congressman’s cause of death was not immediately clear. LaMalfa was a former rice farmer elected to congress in 2013. He focused on water and agriculture issues during his tenure.

His death shaved an already-thin Republican majority in the US House of Representatives to just a few seats, following the resignation on Monday of former Trump ally Marjorie Taylor Greene.

“He was a fantastic person,” Trump said. “He voted with me 100% of the time.”

Minnesota Congressman Tom Emmer called his colleague a “staunch advocate for his constituents and rural America”.

LaMalfa earned a degree in agriculture business from California Polytechnic State University in San Luis Obispo.

He served as a state lawmaker before being elected to congress, where he fought for help for fire victims in his northern California district and “worked to protect families from overregulation, ensure American farmers and ranchers can continue to feed the world”, according to his congressional website.

Greene’s resignation and LaMalfa’s death left Republicans with a 218-213 majority, meaning they have only a two-vote cushion – if three don’t vote or side with Democrats, Republicans lose.

Within hours after LaMalfa’s death was announced on Tuesday, news emerged that another Republican congressman had been hospitalized after a car wreck.

Indiana Congressman Jim Baird was recuperating and “expected to make a full recovery”, according to a statement posted to social media.

There are currently four vacancies in the House with Democrats favoured to fill two of them – in special elections in Texas at the end of January, and in New Jersey in the spring.

Under California law, Governor Gavin Newsom will have 14 days to call for a special election to fill LaMalfa’s seat.