MOSCOW (Reuters) - Preparations for a meeting between Russian President Vladimir Putin and U.S. President Donald Trump are at an "advanced stage", Russian state news agency RIA quoted a senior lawmaker as saying on Thursday.

Former U.S. Ambassador Michael McFaul and investigative journalist Roman Anin dissect Trump and Putin’s shared traits, warn against rushed Ukraine negotiations and underscore the critical role of journalists in countering an era of misinformation.

That will take some doing. Putin remains uninterested in peace talks as long as Russian troops continue to gain ground in Ukraine’s east, albeit at a slow pace, and while Ukrainian forces hold seized territory in the Kursk region inside Russia, according to John Herbst, a former U.S. ambassador to Ukraine, and other former officials.

The Kremlin said on Friday there had been a lot of inaccurate reports on U.S. plans for ending the Ukraine war and called for patience as speculation swirled around the timing of a possible meeting between presidents Vladimir Putin and Donald Trump.

The President of Ukraine, Volodymyr Zelensky, stated that Donald Trump has not yet presented an official plan to end the war with Russia. He also emphasised that he is ready to engage in talks with Putin if they would lead to an end to the war.