Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has renewed his call for direct talks with Russian President Vladimir Putin to end their ongoing war.

The warring sides are still far apart heading into the third round of U.S.-brokered peace negotiations, set for Wednesday in Istanbul.

The U.K. chaired a Ukraine Defense Contact Group meeting to discuss rapid transfer of arms including Patriot missiles, as the Britain responds to President Donald Trump's 50-day ultimatum to Russian President Vladimir Putin.

Vladimir Putin is open to peace after Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelensky suggested fresh ceasefire talks, Moscow said. Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov said the Russian president was ready to negotiate, but that Russia remained committed to “achieving its goals”.

Russian President Vladimir Putin is ready to move toward a peace settlement for Ukraine but Moscow's main objective is to achieve its goals, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told state television in a clip published on Sunday.

During his visit to Kharkiv, French Foreign Minister Jean-Noël Barrot confirmed that Donald Trump had given Putin an ultimatum for a ceasefire in Ukraine. According to the minister, this shows that Trump has chosen to support Ukraine and is ready to provide military assistance.

How Russia has amped up its aerial strikes on Ukraine - The Russian army launched a fresh drone assault on Kyiv overnight, following a pattern of attacks in the past two months

Putin has spurned Zelensky’s previous offers of a face-to-face meeting to end Europe’s biggest conflict since World War II.

Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov has expressed hope that US President Donald Trump's "reasonable" position on the Ukrainian conflict will influence the European Union's stance on the matter, RT reported on Tuesday.