"I told the U.S. president and all our European colleagues that Putin is bluffing (about his stated wish to end the war)," Zelenskiy said. "He is trying to apply pressure before the meeting in Alaska along all parts of the Ukrainian front.

Donald Trump is preparing to offer Vladimir Putin access to rare earth minerals to incentivise him to end the war in Ukraine. The US president will arrive at the much-anticipated meeting with his Russian counterpart on Friday armed with a number of money-making opportunities for Putin.