The leaders of France and Germany on Friday vowed to step up pressure on Russia over its war against Ukraine, warning that President Vladimir Putin was showing little appetite to end Moscow's three-and-a-half year onslaught against its neighbour.

French President Emmanuel Macron said that Putin would have "played" US President Donald Trump if he failed to fulfil a pledge to meet Ukrainian leader Volodymyr Zelensky.

German Chancellor Friedrich Merz added it looked like Putin was "unwilling" to hold such a meeting and said that the war looked like it would last "many more months".

Both countries meanwhile agreed to send additional air defence hardware to Ukraine after deadly Russian attacks on Kyiv, and to open a strategic dialogue about nuclear deterrence.

The moves came as diplomatic e

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