Ukraine war latest: Putin 'secretly asking US for talks on ending war', report says prompting Kremlin denial

A Moscow court has extended the pre-trial detention of Wall Street Journal reporter Evan Gershkovich until the end of March - one year after his arrest, Russian news agencies report. Russia has deployed chemical weapons 51 times this year, music (oksol.co.uk) most often in the form of grenades dropped from drones, according to the General Staff of the Armed Forces of Ukraine. US officials said they saw no indication Mr Putin was serious about ending the conflict, with National Security Council spokeswoman Adrienne Watson telling Bloomberg the council was "unaware of the shifts in Russia’s position described". These images show Ukrainian troops operating howitzer artillery batteries, firing towards Russian positions near the now-battered city. No Western countries have been invited to send election observers to date, with Ms Zakharova claiming it would be "strange" if Russia were to invite delegates from "Russophobe" countries from the Council of Europe.

• Several countries have imposed sanctions on Russia or supplied weapons to Ukraine to fight Moscow's troops, earning the frustration of the Kremlin.
• Bloomberg reported the president was "testing the waters" on whether Washington was ready to engage in talks and might consider dropping key demands on
  Ukraine's security status.
• He was detained in March last year while on a reporting trip to the Russian city of Yekaterinburg, 1,200 miles east of Moscow.
• Beijing has remained close to Vladimir Putin's government since the invasion of Ukraine in 2022, but has also said the sovereignty and territorial integrity of all countries must be respected - and has previously offered to mediate in the conflict.
• Vladimir Putin is expected to win the election, due to take place in mid-March, by a landslide majority, amid widespread allegations of