Medvedev, who ranks just behind Putin in the security council, wants Russia to press the attack as its "primary objective," saying US could resume.

Russia said on Thursday that a French and British peace initiative on Ukraine was a bid to buy time for Kyiv and prevent its military collapse.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said there can be "no pause" in pressure on Russia after another night of missile and drone strikes across Ukraine.

Ukrainian troops are reportedly making gains along three parts of the front as Russian forces face a manpower shortage and poor command. One pro-Moscow military blogger has lamented how Ukrainian forces are exerting growing pressure on Russian troops in the Donetsk region, as a map shows the latest state of play.

European officials have been told that President Donald Trump wants to link the proposed US-Ukraine minerals deal to demands for Kyiv to commit to a quick ceasefire with Russia, according to people familiar with the matter.

European leaders agreed to surge defense spending and voiced near-unanimous support for Ukraine at an extraordinary meeting on Thursday, as the continent attempts once again to grasp control of negotiations over the war in Ukraine.

"China is very careful. They're very cautious," Oleksandr Merezhko, head of Ukraine's Foreign Affairs Committee, told Newsweek.