Concern that Ukraine will be split up casts shadow over reconstruction talks

Leaders meet in Rome amid forecasts that a third of rebuild costs could fall to Russia if Ukraine has to concede territory

Ever-escalating Russian drone attacks and the concern that Ukraine will be split up under a future peace plan have cast a shadow over a meeting of European leaders to plan for the eventual reconstruction of the war-torn country.

The conference is the fourth in this format and is being attended by Volodymyr Zelenskyy, Germany's Friedrich Merz, Italy's Giorgia Meloni and Poland's Donald Tusk. It comes at a time of unprecedented pressure on the Ukrainian economy as Vladimir Putin widens his targets across Ukraine, deploying record numbers of long-range drones.