While Volodymyr Zelenskyy is in Rome for talks with Giorgia Meloni, Vladimir Putin has been honouring Russian soldiers in Moscow.

Putin awarded honours to more than 200 servicemen and civilians at the Kremlin in a ceremony marking the annual Heroes of the Fatherland Day.

“Today, the military personnel honoured with the Hero of Russia title will receive awards. They have demonstrated exceptional courage and valour while performing their missions in the special military operation zone,” the Russian president said at the event.

“Under extremely challenging combat conditions, they have shown utmost professionalism, true grit, and leadership, doing their best to ensure that our troops continue to advance in key sectors.”

Ukraine, Europe ready to present ‘refined’ peace plan to US ‘in near future’, Zelenskyy says

Volodymyr Zelenskyy says Ukraine and Europe will soon be ready to present a refined version of the peace proposal to the US after several days of talks.

“The Ukrainian and European components are now more developed, and we are ready to present them to our partners in the US,” he said on social media.

“Together with the American side, we expect to swiftly make the potential steps as doable as possible.”

Zelenskyy stressed that Ukraine remains “committed to a real peace” and  that “everything depends on whether Russia is ready to take effective steps to stop the bloodshed and prevent the war from reigniting”.