U.S. President Donald Trump and his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin will not attend what could be the first direct peace talks between Moscow and Kyiv in three years on Thursday, the Kremlin sending instead a group of experienced technocrats.

Each side is seeking to call the other’s bluff by demonstrating they alone want peace while the other is the obstacle.

The Russian president faced pressure from Ukraine's Volodymyr Zelensky to travel for the talks in Istanbul on Thrusday.