Vladimir Putin engaged in a number of unusual activities prior to and after the Alaska summit with Donald Trump, suggesting he is preparing the ground for a peace deal.

The denial of a Putin-Zelenskyy meeting comes days after Donald Trump said he had begun arrangements for them to sit down together.

Russia’s top diplomat said in an interview released on Friday that “there is no meeting planned” between President Vladimir V. Putin of Russia and President Volodymyr Zelensky of Ukraine. It was the Kremlin’s most direct declaration yet that a summit the White House suggested was imminent was nowhere close to materializing.

Donald Trump has suggested that he will give Vladimir Putin another two-week deadline to agree to peace talks with Volodymyr Zelensky. Speaking to CNN, the US president said he will “know in two weeks what I’m going to do” after Moscow appeared to reject his plea for a meeting between the two leaders.

Despite Russia being banned from FIFA competitions, Trump said he thinks Putin will attend the 2026 World Cup.

President Trump said in a social media post Monday that he had spoken to Russian President Vladimir Putin and set in motion arrangements for a summit at a location to be decided.

Russia launches new wave of attacks, Lavrov says Russia should guarantee security for Ukraine, Vance takes us inside the room, Miller rants against "stupid hippies."

Putin ‘setting a trap’ for Kyiv through land concession demands, EU diplomat warns - Zelensky hits out at ‘outrageous’ overnight attack involving 574 drones and 40 missiles