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Russian President Vladimir Putin said on Wednesday he could deploy conventional missiles within striking distance of the United States and its European allies if they allowed Ukraine to strike deeper into Russia with long-range Western weapons.

Joe Biden has ruled out Ukraine joining Nato in the aftermath of a ceasefire with Russia in a major blow to Volodymyr Zelensky.

Ahead of Nato’s annual summit on July 9, the US president said Ukraine would have to rely on supplies of Western weapons to ward off a second Russian offensive.

Peace, he said, “doesn’t mean Nato.”

“It means we have a relationship with them like we do with other countries, where we supply weapons so they can defend themselves in future,” he told Time magazine.

Mr Zelensky has pushed for Ukraine to be granted swift entry to Nato after the war is over, arguing Vladimir Putin is likely to stage another invasion before long.

Membership of the alliance would compel the US and western nations to come to the defence of Ukraine in the event of any Russian attack, under Article 5 of the Nato treaty.

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Joe Biden has said that there is “every reason” to draw the conclusion that Benjamin Netanyahu is prolonging the war in Gaza for his own political self-preservation.

Biden made the remarks about the Israeli prime minister in an interview with Time magazine published on Tuesday morning, drawing a sharp response from the Israeli government, which accused the US president of straying from diplomatic norms.

Netanyahu’s popularity plummeted after the 7 October attack by Hamas, which exposed serious flaws in Israeli security. Most political observers say Netanyahu would lose elections if they were held now, and would be forced into opposition, facing court hearings on corruption charges. But elections have been put off until the war is over, or at least until major military operations are deemed to have been completed.

The pressure was intensifying for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to cut a cease-fire deal and gain freedom for scores of hostages, even as Hamas leaders remained emphatic Tuesday that any agreement must include a permanent cease-fire across the entire Gaza Strip.

The Hamas conditions would cut against Netanyahu's repeated pledge not to end the war until Hamas is crushed. But his government on Monday confirmed the deaths of four more hostages, fueling protests and angst among the loved ones of those still held captive. The government says more than a third of hostages − 43 of the 124 − are now confirmed dead.