In a marathon five-hour Kremlin session, Russia's leader welcomes Trump's envoy and son-in-law with Red Square pleasantries but dismisses European 'unacceptable' demands as sabotage, vowing swift defeat if war escalates while Zelenskyy braces for US-brokered ceasefire amid stalled territorial concessions.

Earlier that day, Putin accused Ukraine's European supporters of blocking U.S. attempts to end the war. He claimed that Europe was not interested in peace and was instead pushing for the conflict to continue.

President Trump's envoy Steve Witkoff will travel next week to Moscow as momentum builds for a peace deal to end the war in Ukraine.

Special envoy Steve Witkoff is preparing to meet with Vladimir Putin at the Kremlin as Volodymyr Zelensky scrambles to consolidate European support.

India's imports of Russian oil may decline for only "a brief period" as Moscow plans to boost supplies, using sophisticated technology to avert the impact of Western sanctions, Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov said on Tuesday.