Melania Trump took the unique step of crafting a letter calling for peace in Ukraine, having her husband Donald Trump deliver it to Vladimir Putin.

Ukraine’s Donbas region, consisting of Donetsk and Luhansk, is at the heart of Moscow’s goals. An industrial powerhouse in the Soviet era, it also has rich farmland, important rivers and a coastline on the Sea of Azov.

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.

In a whispered conversation with French President Emmanuel Macron at a summit with other European leaders on Aug. 18, the U.S. president seemingly shared that he thinks Russian President Vladimir Putin will agree to end the war in Ukraine in order to hand Trump a victory. The comment was picked up via hot mic, Fox News reported.

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.

Russia, Ukraine and European powers have all emerged from meetings with President Donald Trump in support of establishing security guarantees as part of a broader agreement to put an end to the bloody war between Moscow and Kyiv.

Former Trump National Security Adviser Robert O'Brien joins ‘America Reports’ to break down President Donald Trump’s negotiations with Russian President Vladimir Putin over ending the Ukraine war.

Built in tsarist times to show off the glory of the Russian empire, the hall was the setting for Mr Putin’s account of his achievements during the visit to Alaska, a former imperial possession. He praised Mr Trump’s “sincerity” and efforts to end the war.