Russian and Ukrainian officials are discussing the timing of a potential new meeting, Putin said. Speaking to reporters during a visit to Belarus, he said that the terms of a potential ceasefire, which the Kremlin has so far effectively rejected, are expected to be on the agenda
The war shows no signs of abating as US-led international peace efforts have so far produced no breakthrough. Two recent rounds of talks between Russian and Ukrainian delegations in Istanbul were brief and yielded no progress on reaching a settlement
Ukraine wants the next step in peace talks to be a meeting between Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and Putin, Ukrainian Defence Minister Rustem Umerov said
The suggestion is likely a non-starter, given Putin's recent comments. The Russian leader has said a summit meeting should take place only after the main provisions of a peace deal have been agreed, and that could take months or years
Putin has also repeated his claim that Zelenskyy lost his legitimacy after his presidential term expired last year, an allegation rejected by Kyiv and its allies
Meanwhile, Russian forces launched 363 Shahed and decoy drones as well as eight missiles at Ukraine overnight, the Ukrainian air force said Friday, claiming that air defences stopped all but four of the drones and downed six cruise missiles
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