Officials from the United States and NATO are attempting to discern the state of discussions between Russia and Ukraine.

According to various individuals briefed on the issue, US and NATO officials think Russian President Vladimir Putin has not backed down from his original demands in discussions with Ukraine, and there is a significant dose of scepticism in Western capitals about how serious Moscow's participation is.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has recently indicated that he is willing to consider some concessions to Russia to help bri....