US President Donald Trump and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky held crunch war talks in the heart of the Vatican minutes before the start of the funeral of Pope Francis on Saturday, as the White House mounts an increasingly urgent push to strike a peace deal in Ukraine.

U.S. President Donald Trump's envoy Steve Witkoff met President Vladimir Putin in Moscow on Friday at what Trump has said is a key moment in diplomacy to end the war in Ukraine. Witkoff has emerged as Washington's key interlocutor with Putin as Trump pushes for a deal to end the war,

Steve Witkoff, President Donald Trump's special envoy, has landed in Moscow, Interfax news agency said. He is expected to meet Vladimir Putin later on Friday—his fourth meeting with the Russian president this year.