Russian President Vladimir Putin said that Moscow hoped for more peace talks with Ukraine but that the momentum of the war was in its favour, signalling no shift in his stance despite a looming sanctions deadline from Washington.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy's top adviser urged the U.S. to "strangle" Russia's economy by imposing secondary sanctions on Moscow's trading partners.

President Donald Trump has ordered nuclear submarines to be positioned near Russia in response to escalating threats from Moscow. Amid growing tensions over the Ukraine war, Trump and Russia’s former president Dmitry Medvedev traded blows this week,