ISTANBUL − Russia's Vladimir Putin spurned a challenge to meet face-to-face with Volodymyr Zelenskyy in Turkey, instead sending a second-tier delegation to planned peace talks, while Ukraine's president said his defence minister would head up Kyiv's team.

Top European diplomats accused Russian President Vladimir Putin of undermining talks with Ukraine aimed at securing a halt to his war, though the US struck a more cautious tone ahead of a potential meeting in Turkey.