The Kremlin has denied White House claims that it has approved plans for British and international troops to act as peacekeepers in Ukraine.

There was optimism this week after US President Donald Trump said he had asked Vladimir Putin about Nato and European members serving in the war zone and the Russian president confirmed he had 'no problem with it'.

But yesterday the Kremlin flatly denied there had been any change in Russia's position, insisting such a scenario was a red line.

Its denial means Russia is yet to make any concessions as part of a deal to end the war. 

However, UK military chiefs are continuing with plans for the deployment of between 10,000 to 15,000 troops.

They would be drawn from across the Army, RAF and Royal Navy in a move expected to cost £4billion a year.

Putin's spokesperson Dmitry Peskov, while denying plans for peacekeepers to deploy to Ukraine from Nato countries, said he welcomed the US's more 'balanced' approach to the conflict.

He added he hoped the US would be able to persuade Ukraine's European partners, such as Britain, to 'gravitate towards greater balance'.

Meanwhile, as Ukraine sealed its deal with the US over its rare earth minerals, Putin said he was ready to 'offer' resources to American partners in joint projects, including mining in what he described as Russia's 'new territories'.

By this, Putin meant land in Ukraine occupied by Russian troops. He said: 'As for the new territories, we are ready to attract foreign partners . . . these are historical territories which have returned to the Russian Federation. I want to emphasise Russia has significantly more resources of this kind than Ukraine.'