Trump talks extensively about a [peace] deal and the parameters within which it will be proposed to ensure it doesn't fall through—he is preparing both sides,” Veselovsky said. The diplomat explained that would mean Russian dictator Vladimir Putin changing his policy at Trump’s behest.

Russia launched a massive combined missile and drone attack on Ukraine, the third in three days, but Ukrainian air defenses shot most of the airborne ordnance out of the sky with only one person reported hurt.

Russia attacked the Ukrainian capital Kyiv with a sophisticated combination of missiles and drones for the first time in 73 days on Wednesday, authorities reported, as the Pentagon said most of the North Korean troops sent to help Moscow’s war effort are fighting to drive Ukraine’s army off Russian soil in the Kursk border region.