Ukrainian Defense Minister Oleksiy Reznikov denies his country's involvement in the explosions that damaged the undersea Nord Stream gas pipelines in the Baltic Sea last year.

The Chinese peace plan on Ukraine urges both sides to agree to a gradual de-escalation and warns against the use of nuclear weapons.

Belarus has suggested arranging a meeting between Russian and US leaders.

“There is little reason to believe that it entered our airspace by accident. By all appearances, it seems some plan was being realized here,” a Belarusian official said.

The Kremlin has dismissed a peace plan by Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelensky, saying proposals to end the war must take into account “today’s realities” of four Ukrainian regions that recently joined Russia.

Kosovo closed its biggest border crossing with Serbia on Wednesday after Serbs reportedly set up more barricades on their side to support their ethnic kin in Kosovo.

Russia has rejected Ukraine's proposal for a pullout of Russian troops this Christmas, saying Kiev needs to accept "new realities" with regards to territories in the country.

Russia says it currently sees no prospects for talks on Ukraine, days after US President Joe Biden said he would sit with Russian President Vladimir Putin "if he's looking for a way to end the war."

“It will certainly happen in due course because it is part of the Russian Federation,” said the Kremlin's spokesman Dmitry Peskov.

This came after President Joe Biden of the United States suggested he would be open to talks with Moscow.