It comes as Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelensky ruled out a ceasefire by Christmas, saying Russia is likely to reject a new European-backed peace proposal and that Ukraine must be ready to continue fighting.

President Vladimir Putin said on Wednesday that Russia would achieve its goals in Ukraine by diplomatic or military means, and would seek to expand a "security buffer zone" there.

Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Sergey Ryabkov told ABC News during an exclusive interview in Moscow on Monday that he believes the warring parties are close to a deal.

Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Sergey Ryabkov told ABC News that he is "very much confident and pretty sure" that Moscow and Kyiv are "on the verge" of a deal to end the war, as U.S.-brokered peace talks make slow but steady progress.

Ukraine controls nearly 90% of the strategic northeastern town of Kupiansk, its military chief said on Wednesday, but Russia's defence minister said a Ukrainian counter-attack on the town had been unsuccessful.

The attack appeared to have been inspired by white supremacist ideology, Telegram channels close to intelligence agencies reported.

Russian crude prices are at their lowest since the war in Ukraine began, as sanctions deepen the discounts the nation’s oil industry needs to offer and benchmark futures tumble.

The new head of Britain’s foreign intelligence service MI6 will warn the nation that the “front line is everywhere” in her first public speech on Monday, as the UK faces emerging threats.

The EU has imposed sanctions on the high-profile oil trader Murtaza Lakhani for allegedly assisting Russia’s Rosneft in exporting crude and others petroleum products in breach of western restrictions. Lakhani is the best known trader to have been targeted by Brussels since Russia’s 2022 full-scale invasion of Ukraine.