The Kremlin said on Friday that a summit between Russian President Vladimir Putin and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy could only happen as a final step to seal a peace deal.

The Kremlin has been in a state of high alert for some time, and President Putin has been eager to reassert Russia's nuclear threat to the West.

Russian officials are attempting to delay high-level negotiations between Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and Russian President Vladimir Putin, according to a new assessment by the US-based Institute for the Study of War (ISW).

Russian President Vladimir Putin is ready to move toward a peace settlement for Ukraine but Moscow's main objective is to achieve its goals, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told state television in a clip published on Sunday.