Days after talks between the two countries, the Kremlin has said that a meeting between Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and Russian leader Vladimir Putin is ‘obviously unlikely’ before the end of August.

Russia and Ukraine discussed further prisoner swaps on Wednesday at a brief session of peace talks in Istanbul, but the sides remained far apart on ceasefire terms and a possible meeting of their leaders.

Officials from Russia and Ukraine ended a third round of formal negotiations in Istanbul with an agreement to swap more prisoners but little sign of progress on a deal to halt the war.