Russian President Vladimir Putin has ratcheted up tensions with Europe, warning that if the bloc starts a war with Russia, Moscow is ready.

BRUSSELS - However Donald Trump’s latest push to end the war in Ukraine pans out, Europe fears the prospect of a deal – sooner or later – that will not punish or weaken Russia as its leaders had hoped, placing the continent’s security in greater jeopardy.

After being blindsided by President Donald Trump’s 28-point plan last month, some Europeans have expressed extreme disquiet at being apparently sidelined in talks.

U.S. President Donald Trump’s push for a peace deal to end the war in Ukraine is intensifying. Officials from the U.S., Ukraine and Russia have crisscrossed the globe in recent weeks in a flurry of meetings aimed at negotiating a deal.

Talks between Russian President Vladimir Putin and U.S. envoys on Tuesday yielded no public breakthrough on a potential Ukraine peace deal, with Kremlin aide Yuri Ushakov suggesting unsolved "territorial problems" were the main stumbling block.

A Putin ally has called for more detail in Trump's peace plan for Ukraine. Follow Newsweek's live coverage of the war.

Ukrainian officials met with U.S. President Donald Trump's representatives Sunday, and Washington officials are expected in Moscow for more peace talks this week.

Trump administration officials are stepping up the diplomatic push to end the war in Ukraine as the U.S. continues its military build-up in the Caribbean and faces scrutiny for strikes on suspected drug-trafficking boats.

Hungarian Defense Minister Kristóf Szalay-Bobrovniczky stated that, from a military standpoint, Ukraine has lost the war, reiterating positions on the conflict and his government’s stance that he has expressed since last year.