Russia said that discussions with Washington were underway regarding potential peace talks to end the war nearly three years after Moscow’s full-scale invasion.

That will take some doing. Putin remains uninterested in peace talks as long as Russian troops continue to gain ground in Ukraine’s east, albeit at a slow pace, and while Ukrainian forces hold seized territory in the Kursk region inside Russia, according to John Herbst, a former U.S. ambassador to Ukraine, and other former officials.

U.S. President Donald Trump said on Monday he wanted Ukraine to supply the country with rare earths in return for financially supporting Kyiv's war effort against Russia.

The president appears to have adopted a proposal first made last year that offers “strategic partners” such as the U.S. special access to Ukraine's glut of natural resources.

US President Donald Trump has said he wants access to Ukraine’s mineral deposits in exchange for future military aid that Kyiv needs as it continues to defend itself against Russia’s aggression.

Ukraine previously offered access to its rare earth minerals in hopes of keeping the Trump administration engaged in its fight with Russia.

Trump said his administration wants to make a deal with Ukraine to access its key natural resources in exchange for continued U.S. support.