Putin 'mystery' as Zelensky claims Russian dictator 'running out of time'

 Vladimir Putin "doesn't have too much time" left, Volodymyr Zelensky has claimed.

The Ukrainian president made the remarks as his 73-year-old Russian counterpart had mysteriously vanished from public view for more than a week. In recent days, Russian state media is believed to have aired pre-recorded footage of the Kremlin leader meeting officials.

It remains unclear whether Putin's apparent absence is due to health issues or other reasons, but Zelensky told Politico at the Munich Security Conference: "I'm younger than Putin…"

When the audience laughed, the 48-year-old Ukrainian leader said: "No, no, believe me this is important. He doesn’t have too much time, you know. Not too much time. He has, God bless, not too much time."

Putin has not been seen publicly since a speech on February 5, although it is unclear what Zelensky was alluding to. The Russian leader rarely takes holidays but disappears from view several times a year without explanation, with some televised meetings later suggested to have been pre-recorded.

Such absences have fuelled speculation that Putin may be undergoing medical treatment. However, in recent appearances he has looked energetic and maintained a busy schedule, despite unproven rumours about his health.

It came as Donald Trump called on Zelensky to make concessions to Putin, insisting Russia is seeking a peace deal as its full-scale invasion of Ukraine approaches its fifth year.

"Russia wants to make a deal and Zelensky’s going to have to get moving," the US president told reporters at the White House on Friday. "Otherwise he’s going to miss a great opportunity. He’s going to have to move."

Russia is still demanding that Ukraine cede territory in Donbas, which Putin's forces have failed to seize during the war - a condition Kyiv refuses to accept ahead of new peace talks in Geneva next week.

Zelensky hit back at the suggestion, saying Ukraine, unlike Russia, has already made concessions - the largest being that Putin has not been jailed for war crimes. "We have made a lot of compromises," he told Politico. "Putin and his friends - they are not in prison. This is the biggest compromise the world made already."

The Kremlin has reinstated hardline aide Vladimir Medinsky as the key negotiator for the Geneva talks, replacing GRU military intelligence chief Admiral Igor Kostyukov.

The US also urged China to intervene, claiming it would take only a phone call to halt the conflict. "China could call Vladimir Putin and end this war tomorrow," said US Ambassador to NATO Matthew Whitaker.

Meanwhile, Russian forces launched an overnight attack on Ukraine on Saturday. The body of a 76-year-old woman was found under the rubble of a building in Odesa.

"Overnight, the enemy once again attacked the region with strike drones. In Odesa, a UAV hit damaged the roof of a single-story residential building. Firefighters quickly extinguished the blaze. Unfortunately, a woman was killed in the attack," said Odesa regional military chief Oleh Kiper.

A barrage on the Zaporizhzhia region in the past 24 hours also killed at least one person and wounded three others, according to regional military chief Ivan Fedorov.