Russia’s foreign minister has cast fresh doubt on peace talks, questioning “the legitimacy” of Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelensky to sign any future agreements after targetting a US factory in a large bombardment on Ukraine.

In essence, the Russian sources said, Putin has compromised on territorial demands he laid out in June 2024, which required Kyiv to cede the entirety of the four provinces Moscow claims as part of Russia: Dontesk and Luhansk in eastern Ukraine - which make up the Donbas - plus Kherson and Zaporizhzhia in the south.

Ukrainian officials say more than 19,000 children have been unlawfully deported to Russia or occupied areas, with reports suggesting the number could be far higher.

The fast-moving developments in Trump's near-back-to-back summits with the heads of Russia, Ukraine and European powers have highlighted a pair of repeated sticking points.

Twenty-six years ago a tall, stooping man in a maroon beret and a powerfully-built figure with hooded eyes in green camouflage stood opposite one another in a Balkan field. The taller of the two produced a hip flask.

There was little concrete progress Monday on the obstacles to ending the war — a deadlock that likely favors Russian President Vladimir Putin.

Nearly a week after President Trump’s Alaska summit, his suggestions of imminent breakthroughs have not come to pass.

As the front lines froze, and air defenses got better, Russia and Ukraine pivoted away from close bombing runs to standoff attacks.

Russia has yet again ignored Donald Trump’s bid to hold a summit between Vladimir Putin and Volodymyr Zelensky and said attempts to resolve security issues for Kyiv without Moscow’s participation was a “road to nowhere”.