Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said he is prepared to meet Vladimir Putin this week, shortly after US President Donald Trump urged him to “immediately” accept the Russian leader’s offer to hold peace talks in Turkey.

European leaders say Russia's failure to join a ceasefire offered by Ukraine would lead to further sanctions on Moscow.

They said that if President Vladimir V. Putin did not agree to the cease-fire, more sanctions would be imposed.

In a flurry of diplomatic developments over the weekend, Russia shunned the ceasefire proposal tabled by the US and European leaders, but offered direct talks with Ukraine on Thursday. European leaders have called for a ceasefire to be in place before ...

The ultimatum from Berlin comes as Ukraine said Russia was still carrying out attacks along the front line, despite a ceasefire proposal agreed on the weekend among Kyiv's allies for a 30-day ceasefire to start Monday. The Kremlin said such an ultimatum "is unacceptable for Russia."

The Kremlin brushed off the threat of further sanctions, saying that “the language of ultimatums is unacceptable.”