Russia has yet again ignored Donald Trump’s bid to hold a summit between Vladimir Putin and Volodymyr Zelensky and said attempts to resolve security issues for Kyiv without Moscow’s participation was a “road to nowhere”.

U.S. and European military planners have begun exploring post-conflict security guarantees for Ukraine, U.S. officials and sources told Reuters on Tuesday, following President Donald Trump's pledge to help protect the country under any deal to end Russia's war.

Top U.S. and European defense officials spent much of this week privately discussing possible military options in Ukraine that would bolster the Eastern European country’s protections against Russia.

Russia said Wednesday attempts to resolve security issues relating to Ukraine without Moscow's participation were a "road to nowhere," and that much diplomatic work needs to be done before Vladimir Putin and Volodymyr Zelenskyy are ever in the same room.

President Trump hosted Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and European leaders at the White House on Monday, an event the U.S. president called "a very good, early step" to possibly resolve the war in Ukraine.

President Donald Trump on Sunday night declared that Kyiv would not be regaining Moscow-annexed Crimea, nor would it be allowed to join NATO.