Melania Trump took the unique step of crafting a letter calling for peace in Ukraine, having her husband Donald Trump deliver it to Vladimir Putin.

Under the proposed Russian deal, Kyiv would fully withdraw from the eastern Donetsk and Luhansk regions in return for a Russian pledge to freeze the front lines in the southern regions of Kherson and Zaporizhzhia, the sources said.

Ukraine’s Donbas region, consisting of Donetsk and Luhansk, is at the heart of Moscow’s goals. An industrial powerhouse in the Soviet era, it also has rich farmland, important rivers and a coastline on the Sea of Azov.

Russia said Wednesday attempts to resolve security issues relating to Ukraine without Moscow's participation were a "road to nowhere," and that much diplomatic work needs to be done before Vladimir Putin and Volodymyr Zelenskyy are ever in the same room.

Former Trump National Security Adviser Robert O'Brien joins ‘America Reports’ to break down President Donald Trump’s negotiations with Russian President Vladimir Putin over ending the Ukraine war.

Built in tsarist times to show off the glory of the Russian empire, the hall was the setting for Mr Putin’s account of his achievements during the visit to Alaska, a former imperial possession. He praised Mr Trump’s “sincerity” and efforts to end the war.

After a meeting at the White House on Monday, the French president said that if there is no progress in talks, Russia should be hit with more sanctions.

Russian leader Vladimir Putin agreed at his summit with President Donald Trump that the United States and its European allies could offer Ukraine a security guarantee resembling NATO’s collective defense mandate as part of an eventual deal to end the war,