Putin left Alaska with Trump's endorsement of the "fantastic relationship" between the two presidents, having successfully neutralized Trump's previous demand he agree an immediate ceasefire and pushing off the threat of more American sanctions, while gaining the prospect of potentially lucrative bilateral economic cooperation.

Trump's Ukraine peace talks show potential as envoy meets Russian officials, but territorial disputes remain the key obstacle to ending the ongoing war.

President Donald Trump’s chief interlocutor with the Russian government last month advised a senior aide to Vladimir Putin on how the Russian leader should go about pitching the U.S. president on a Ukraine peace plan.

Russian President Vladimir Putin said Thursday that a U.S. delegation is expected to arrive in Moscow in the first half of next week.

The leak of the call to Bloomberg News has not gone down well in Russia, with the Kremlin calling it “unacceptable” and “clearly aimed” at hindering the peace talks. Russia’s defence units have downed at least 118 Ukrainian drones overnight, its defence ministry said in an update this morning.

Witkoff’s prep for Russia informed Putin’s Oct. 16 call with Trump when he warned of consequences of the arming Ukraine with long-range Tomahawk missiles.

From the front-line city of Pokrovsk in eastern Donetsk, to Zaporizhzhia in the south, there is little doubt that Russia is making advances. But, battlefield monitors suggest the picture is not quite so bleak for Ukraine as Trump and Putin suggest.

As U.S. and European officials tout progress in Ukraine peace talks, Zelenskyy says a key sticking point is letting Putin keep "what he has stolen."