President Donald Trump is willing to “crush” Russia's economy with sanctions if Russian President Vladimir Putin refuses to meet with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy

The remarks came days after Mr Trump travelled to Alaska to meet Vladimir Putin face-to-face for the first time since the first Trump administration.

President Trump seeks to broker a meeting of the two leaders to end Europe’s most destructive war in generations.

After a meeting at the White House on Monday, the French president said that if there is no progress in talks, Russia should be hit with more sanctions.

The White House says that Vladimir Putin told President Trump that he would meet with the man whose country Russia invaded, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy. It comes as Trump is ruling out sending U.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy firmly rejects Russian President Vladimir Putin's demands to cede the Donbas region, citing sovereignty concerns and the area's critical economic and strategic importance.

A summit in Paris six years ago was the first and only time the two presidents ever met, flanked by French president Emmanuel Macron and Germany’s then-chancellor Angela Merkel. At the time, Putin and Zelensky were looking to hash out a ceasefire deal for war in Donbas in Ukraine’s east, where Russia-backed forces were fighting Ukrainian troops.

President Trump met with Russian president Vladimir Putin last week to discuss a ceasefire between Russia and Ukraine, but came away thinking it wasn’t necessary and once again praising Putin. But there was at least one thing Trump said that “wasn’t crazy,” according to Lawrence O’Donnell.