Russian President Vladimir Putin has ratcheted up tensions with Europe, warning that if the bloc starts a war with Russia, Moscow is ready.

Witkoff, the man whom Washington has sent to negotiate with Putin this week, is viewed with suspicion by Kyiv and its allies after a leaked phone call suggested he was advising Moscow on how to deal with Trump, according to a transcript published by Bloomberg News.

Kyiv accuses Ross David Cutmore of helping Moscow plot assassinations and attacks on military training centres

French President Emmanuel Macron is visiting China for three days to focus on trade talks and the global crisis.

Ahead of the meeting, Russia claims to have captured the key eastern city of Pokrovsk, a front-line development Ukraine denies. Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelenskyy is meeting with political leaders in Ireland on an official visit.

Russia said on Monday that it had captured the eastern Ukrainian city of Pokrovsk, in claims that Kyiv has yet to confirm or deny.

Michael Froman, Council on Foreign Relations president, joins 'Squawk Box' to discuss the meeting between a U.S. delegation led by special envoy Steve Witkoff and Russian President Vladimir Putin, state of the Russia-Ukraine war,