Vladimir Putin is demanding that Ukraine give up all of the eastern Donbas region, renounce ambitions to join NATO, remain neutral and keep Western troops out of the country, three sources familiar with top-level Kremlin thinking told Reuters.

As Trump pushes for peace, Ukraine accuses Russia of a deadly drone and missile strike, "as if there were no efforts by the world to stop this war."

Last month was the deadliest since Putin launched his full-scale war on Ukraine three and a half years ago. In July alone, 286 civilians were killed and another 1,388, according to official data.

Donald Trump has called on Ukraine to “fight back” with a more offensive stance after Russia mounted one of the biggest aerial assaults since the start of the war. Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelensky said Russia’s massive attack with 574 drones and 40 missiles – which also hit a US electronics manufacturer in west Ukraine – was a signal of Vladimir Putin’s “outrageous” intent.

President Donald Trump has failed to secure an agreement from Vladimir Putin to end Russia’s war in Ukraine, falling short in his most significant move yet to stop the bloodshed, even after rolling out the red carpet for the man who started it.

Under the proposed Russian deal, Kyiv would fully withdraw from the eastern Donetsk and Luhansk regions in return for a Russian pledge to freeze the front lines in the southern regions of Kherson and Zaporizhzhia, the sources said.

The Russia-installed governor of occupied areas of Ukraine's Donetsk region said on Thursday that a Ukrainian combined missile and drone attack killed two people and injured 21 in the industrial city of Yenakiyeve.

US President Donald Trump has posted a cryptic message on social media, potentially encouraging Ukraine to attack Russia.