About $300bn of Russian central bank reserves were frozen at the beginning of Russia’s full-scale invasion. But the US only controls about $5bn, with most of it sitting in the EU, smaller amounts in Japan, the UK, Switzerland and other jurisdictions.

The White House wants Kyiv to sign off on a “framework” to end the war in Ukraine based upon the U.S.-crafted 28-point peace plan by Thursday, according to three U.S. officials.

The U.S. and Russia have reportedly drafted a peace plan to end the war in Ukraine, demanding major concessions from President Zelenskyy.

Thursday’s announcement by Reliance Industries that it had stopped importing crude oil from Russia was a seemingly significant concession to Washington.

Another 40 people were wounded in the overnight strikes on Ukraine that targeted energy and transport infrastructure, forcing emergency power cuts in a number of regions.

An earlier proposed Trump-Putin summit in Hungary was scrapped when it became clear Russia would not agree to the U.S. president's demand for an immediate ceasefire in the Ukraine war.

President Donald Trump is willing to sign legislation to impose sanctions on Russia as long as he retains ultimate decision-making authority over any such measures, a senior White House official said on Monday.