Russian President Vladimir Putin on Wednesday vowed to carry on fighting in Ukraine if a peace deal cannot be reached, striking a defiant tone a day before Kyiv's allies gather in Paris to discuss security guarantees.

Progress towards settling the three-and-a-half-year war appears to have stalled, despite a flurry of diplomatic efforts by US President Donald Trump, who met both his Russian and Ukrainian counterparts last month.

Putin's troops kept up their strikes across the country, firing more than 500 drones and missiles at Ukraine overnight and killing nine in attacks on a frontline town.

The Russian leader hailed his forces' progress, saying they were advancing on "all fronts" and had hobbled Ukraine's army so much it could no longer mount an offensive.

"Let's see how the situatio

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