Vladimir Putin has said that Ukraine’s Western allies so far have shown no interest in a peace plan.

Speaking after talks with visiting Chinese leader Xi Jinping, the Russian president noted British plans to provide Kyiv with ammunition for battle tanks containing depleted uranium, saying that it heralds the West switching to supplying Ukraine with weapons containing nuclear components.

Mr Putin then noted that Russia will “respond accordingly given that the West collectively is already beginning to use weapons with a nuclear component.”