Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelensky has rebuked Putin’s remarks as “Russian manipulation”, saying he is deliberately delaying the possibility of a ceasefire without explicitly rejecting it because he wants to “kill more Ukrainians”.

Zelensky's comments come after Putin agreed fighting must end but any plan must remove the "underlying causes of this crisis".

"Reports about the enemy's alleged 'encirclement' of Ukrainian units in the Kursk region are not true and are created by the Russians for political goals and pressure on Ukraine a