US president Donald Trump said he hoped Moscow would "do the right thing" and agree to a 30-day ceasefire after the Russian president made a series of demands for concessions. "Now we're going to see whether or not Russia is there, and if they're not, it'll be a very disappointing moment for the world," Mr Trump said.

U.S. President Donald Trump said on Thursday that his special envoy Steve Witkoff is in serious discussions with Russia about ending the war in Ukraine. “Hopefully they’ll do the right thing,” Trump told reporters during an Oval Office meeting with NATO Secretary-General Mark Rutte.

By Guy Faulconbridge and Andrew Osborn MOSCOW (Reuters) -Russian President Vladimir Putin's top foreign policy aide said on Thursday he had told Washington that a 30-day ceasefire proposed by the United States to pause the war in Ukraine would simply give Kyiv's forces a much-needed battlefield respite.