U.S. President Donald Trump started the week declaring a diplomatic breakthrough in his bid to prod Moscow and Kyiv closer to peace, announcing he had begun arranging for direct talks between Russia's Vladimir Putin and Ukraine's Volodymyr Zelenskyy.

Trump sounded positive on Monday as he met with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and European leaders at the White House, just two days after his summit with Russia's Vladimir Putin in Alaska. "I think President Putin will make peace. I think President Zelensky will make peace. We'll see if they can get along," Trump said.

There appears to be little movement toward a potential meeting between Russian President Vladimir Putin and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy.