Plans for a bilateral meeting between Russian President Vladimir Putin and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky are now underway, White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said today.

Donald Trump has signalled his support for a package of security guarantees for Ukraine, including foreign boots on Ukrainian soil from around 10 European countries, in a new push to pressure Russian president Vladimir Putin into ending the conflict.

U.S. President Donald Trump says he has called Russian President Vladimir Putin and begun to arrange a meeting between Putin and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, a critical step toward bringing a possible end to Russia's war on Ukraine.

Russia already controls a fifth of Ukraine, including about three-quarters of Donetsk province, which it first entered in 2014.

In a shift, Trump now aligns more closely with Putin than allies in Europe in calling for final talks before a ceasefire

Zelenskyy and Trump expressed hopes that talks with Ukrainian and European leaders at the White House could lead to trilateral talks with Putin to bring an end to his war on Ukraine.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has warned that Friday's meeting between President Donald Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin "will not achieve anything."

President Donald Trump traveled to Alaska on Friday in an attempt to find peace between Russia and Ukraine, telling reporters he wants the killings to end.

Trump’s swerve increases pressure on the Ukrainian leader as he heads to the White House on Monday to make his case.

Donald Trump said the US would help arrange European security guarantees for Ukraine if peace could be agreed with Russia, as he pledged to set up a meeting between Volodymyr Zelenskyy and Vladimir Putin.