Russia says no Ukraine compromise reached after five-hour Putin talks with Trump envoys

"There is still a lot of work to be done," Ushakov told reporters at a briefing in the Kremlin.

Putin reacted negatively to some US proposals, Ushakov said. Witkoff went to the US embassy in Moscow after the talks to brief the White House, Ushakov said.

Ushakov added that a meeting between Putin and Trump was not currently planned, though he said the talks were constructive and that there were huge opportunities for US-Russian economic cooperation.

Ushakov said Putin had sent a series of important signals and his greetings to Trump, but that the sides had agreed not to disclose details to the media.

He added that they had discussed the "territorial problem", Kremlin shorthand for Russian claims to the whole of Donbas, though Ukraine controls at least 1,900 square miles of the area, which Russia claims as its own. Almost all countries recognise Donbas as part of Ukraine.

"Some American draft proposals look more or less acceptable, but they need to be discussed," Ushakov said. "Some of the formulations that have been proposed to us are not suitable for us; that is, the work will continue."

Witkoff and Kushner began talks in the Kremlin after a stroll across Red Square past the mausoleum of Soviet founder Vladimir Lenin to the towers of the Kremlin.

They talked with Putin, Ushakov, and Putin's envoy Kirill Dmitriev, via interpreters.

"Our people are over in Russia right now to see if we can get it settled. Not an easy situation, let me tell you. What a mess," Trump said on Tuesday in Washington, adding that there were casualties of 25,000 to 30,000 per month in the war.

A leaked set of 28 US draft peace proposals emerged in November, alarming Ukrainian and European officials who said it bowed to Moscow's main demands.

European powers then came up with a counter-proposal, and at talks in Geneva, the US and Ukraine said they had created an "updated and refined peace framework" to end the war.

Zelensky, speaking in Dublin, said everything would depend on the talks in Moscow but that he was afraid the US could lose interest in the peace process.

"There will be no easy solutions ... It is important that everything is fair and open, so that there are no games behind Ukraine's back," he said.

Just before the Kremlin meeting with Witkoff, Putin said Russia did not want war with Europe, but that if Europe started one, it would end so swiftly that there would be no one left for Russia to negotiate with.

Putin threatened to sever Ukraine's access to the sea in response to drone attacks on tankers of Russia's "shadow fleet" in the Black Sea. Ukraine's Foreign Minister, Andrii Sybiha, said Putin's remarks showed he was not ready to end the war.

EU leaders agreed in October to meet Ukraine's "pressing financial needs" for the next two years but stopped short of endorsing a plan to use $162 billion in frozen Russian sovereign assets in Europe as a loan for Kyiv, due to concerns raised by Belgium.

Under the Commission's plan, Ukraine would only need to repay the loan if Russia pays reparations for damage caused by waging war against its neighbor.