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

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

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.

Russia and the U.S. did not reach a compromise on a possible peace deal to end the war in Ukraine after a five-hour Kremlin meeting between President Vladimir Putin and Donald Trump's top envoys, the Kremlin said on Wednesday.

Putin also claimed that Zelensky’s European allies have pushed for demands that are “absolutely unacceptable."

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

Russian President Vladimir Putin has claimed without evidence that Russian forces have taken control of Ukrainian cities Pokrovsk and Vovchansk.

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,