VLADIMIR Putin is ready to meet Volodymyr Zelensky, the Kremlin said while issuing a warning to Donald Trump’s nuclear threat.

Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said his boss will meet the Ukrainian leader “after preparatory work is done at the expert level”.

He added that such work has not yet been done.

Putin has previously rejected a slew of proposals from Zelensky to meet for negotiations.

He said last week that peace talks had made some positive progress, but that Russia had the momentum in the war.

But Donald Trump has put pressure on Russia to urgently agree to a ceasefire with Ukraine.

Trump’s deadline for a Ukraine peace is set to expire in just days after the MAGA prez cut the 50-day waiting period to just “10-12 days”.

This would mean the Russians will have till August 8 to strike a peace deal with Ukraine or else face criplling sanctions which could further stifle Moscow.

Despite the pressure from Washington, Russia has continued its onslaught against its pro-Western neighbour.

Meanwhile, the Kremlin said everyone should be “very, very careful” about nuclear rhetoric in its first public reaction to Trump’s nuclear warning.

The US commander-in-chief ordered that two nuclear submarines be positioned near Russia before warning America is “totally prepared” for a nuclear war.

The extraordinary escalation by Trump followed a slew of “inflammatory” threats against America from Kremlin comrade Dmitry Medvedev.

The Kremlin played down its significance and said it was not looking to get into a public argument with him.

Peskov said: “In this case, it is obvious that American submarines are already on combat duty. This is an ongoing process, thats the first thing.

“But in general, of course, we would not want to get involved in such a controversy and would not want to comment on it in any way.

“Of course, we believe that everyone should be very, very careful with nuclear rhetoric.”

Trump has expressed frustration with Putin, questioning whether the Russian leader really wants peace with Ukraine.

He reiterated that he was “very unhappy” with Putin since their last phone call made no progress on the Ukraine peace deal – something the US president has pushed for since returning to power.

Putin has snubbed peace and is instead steadily increasing his overnight bombing raids – which could soon hit 1,000 drones and missiles a day.

Just days ago, 31 people died including five children after the Rusisans fired an Iskander missile into a residential tower block in Kyiv.

Putin, who has consistently rejected calls for a ceasefire, said over the weekend that he wants peace but that his demands for ending his invasion were “unchanged”.

Don’s nuclear warning

By Sayan Bose, Foreign News Reporter

DONALD Trump has said that the US is “totally prepared” for a nuclear war following a slew of threats against America from a Kremlin comrade.

In an extraordinary escalation, the commander-in-chief ordered that two nuclear submarines be positioned near Russia.

The nuclear sabre-rattling comes after Dmitry Medvedev, the deputy chairman of Russia’s security council, made an ominous threat and warned that the US is taking drastic steps towards war with Moscow.

Trump slammed Medvedev’s words as “foolish and inflammatory” before ordering the placement of nuclear submarines near Russian territory.

“Based on the highly provocative statements of the Former President of Russia, Dmitry Medvedev, who is now the Deputy Chairman of the Security Council of the Russian Federation, I have ordered two Nuclear Submarines to be positioned in the appropriate regions,” Trump wrote on Truth Social.

In response, the Kremlin said that everyone should be careful about nuclear rhetoric.

Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov played down the significance of Trump’s comments, saying it was clear that US submarines were already on combat duty anyway.

He said Moscow had no desire to get into a polemic with Trump on the issue.

Medvedev, who was the former Russian president from 2008 to 2012, seemed to threaten America with nuclear annihilation in the tit-for-tat row with Trump.

He said: “If some words of the former Russian president [Medvedev] cause such a nervous reaction in the entire, formidable US president, then Russia is right in everything and will continue to go its own way.

“Let him remember his favorite films about the “walking dead”, as well as how dangerous a “dead hand” that does not exist in nature can be.”

Medvedev may have referred to Moscow’s “Dead Hand” nuclear weapons system, which is designed to launch a doomsday retaliation attack with full nuclear force – even if the Kremlin leadership is wiped out.

He also warned that Russia “isn’t Israel or even Iran.”

“Each new ultimatum is a threat and a step towards war,” the former Russian president wrote in an X post.

The MAGA prez hit back saying: “Just in case these foolish and inflammatory statements are more than just that.

“Words are very important, and can often lead to unintended consequences. I hope this will not be one of those instances. Thank you for your attention to this matter!”

Trump did not say in his post whether he meant nuclear-powered or nuclear-armed submarines. He also did not elaborate on the exact deployment locations, which are kept secret by the US military.

But in an interview with Newsmax that aired Friday night, Trump said the submarines were “closer to Russia.”

“We always want to be ready. And so I have sent to the region two nuclear submarines,” he said.

“I just want to make sure that his words are only words and nothing more than that.”

“We need a lasting and stable peace on solid foundations that would satisfy both Russia and Ukraine, and would ensure the security of both countries,” Putin told reporters.

But he added that “the conditions [from the Russian side] certainly remain the same.”

Meanewhile, Trump confirmed his special envoy Steve Witkoff will visit Russia in the coming week.

The Republican leader said Witkoff would visit “I think next week, Wednesday or Thursday.”

Moscow today said that Witkoff’s visit would be important and helpful.

“We are always happy to see Mr. Witkoff in Moscow… We consider such contact important, substantial and helpful,” Peskov said.

He added that a meeting with Putin was in Moscow’s diary.

Putin has already met Witkoff multiple times in Moscow before Trump’s efforts to mend ties with the Kremlin came to a grinding halt.

The US special envoy has held long conversations with Putin but failed to persuade him to agree to a ceasefire.

Back in May, Zelensky had challenged the Russian dictator to meet him face-to-face to turn the screw and make a deal.

Putin instead dodged peace and said he would only meet him when there was a done deal.

Russia has frequently called on Ukraine to effectively cede control of four regions Moscow claims to have annexed, a demand Kyiv has called unacceptable.

Putin also wants Ukraine to drop its ambitions to join Nato.