Russian President Vladimir Putin on Thursday said that he had "serious questions" about Washington's plan for a 30-day ceasefire in Ukraine but Moscow was ready to discuss it with US President Donald Trump.
President Donald Trump expressed optimism that US negotiators could secure a ceasefire in the Ukraine war, even as Kyiv and Moscow launched fresh aerial attacks early Thursday.
Ukraine endorsed an American proposal for a 30-day ceasefire and agreed to immediate negotiations with Russia in crunch talks in Jeddah on Tuesday after three years of grinding war.
Ukrainian drones smashed into high-rise apartment blocks on the outskirts of Moscow in the early hours of Tuesday, in what both sides called the largest attack targeting the Russian capital of the three-year-conflict.
Russia said Saturday its troops had retaken three villages seized by Ukraine in its Kursk border region, in a fresh setback for Kyiv ahead of talks to try to end the war.
US President Donald Trump warned Monday he would "not put up" much longer with Volodymyr Zelensky's stance on the war with Russia, as the Ukrainian leader countered he wanted to end it "as soon as possible."
European leaders closed ranks Sunday in support of Kyiv at a London summit, where they pledged to spend more on security and assemble a coalition to defend any truce in Ukraine.
The Kremlin on Thursday ruled out giving back Ukrainian regions it claims to have annexed as part of a future peace deal, setting out a major red line as Russian, while US officials met in Istanbul for a new round of talks aimed at normalising relations.
The Kremlin declined to comment Tuesday after Russian independent news site Mediazona in collaboration with the BBC Russian Service published details of over 95,000 Russian soldiers killed fighting Ukraine, based on open-access data.
French President Emmanuel Macron warned Monday that peace cannot mean the "surrender" of Ukraine, but said talks with US President Donald Trump had shown a path forward despite fears of a transatlantic rift.