Rubio says Russia's Lavrov shared 'new idea' on Ukraine
KUALA LUMPUR
U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio said Thursday his Russian counterpart Sergei Lavrov shared a "new idea" on Ukraine during their meeting in Malaysia, hours after Moscow's forces hammered Kiev with missiles and drones.
"It's not a new approach. It's a new idea or a new concept that I'll take back to the president (Donald Trump) to discuss," Rubio told reporters, cautioning it was not something that "automatically leads to peace, but it could potentially open the door to a path."
"I echoed what the president (Donald Trump) said, both a disappointment and frustration at the lack of progress," Rubio said.
"A substantive and frank exchange of views took place on the settlement of the situation in Ukraine," Moscow's foreign ministry said in a statement.
The two diplomats also discussed the "restoration of Russian-American economic and humanitarian cooperation," the statement added.
In Rome, Ukrainian leader Volodymyr Zelensky called for more political and military support from allies at a conference there.
Kiev was shrouded in dark smoke early Thursday after Russia hammered Ukraine's capital with its second large-scale drone and missile barrage in as many nights.
The Kremlin said just after the massive attack that it was still open to more ceasefire talks with Ukraine.
The U.N. said the number of victims from Russian attacks was at its highest level in three years.
Fresh sanctions call
The Ukrainian air force said Russia had launched 415 drones and missiles at the country while Zelensky urged allies to roll out fresh sanctions on Moscow faster.
"Sanctions must be imposed faster, and pressure on Russia must be strong enough that they truly feel the consequences of their terror," he wrote on social media.
The fresh onslaught came just one night after Russia fired a record number of 741 long-range drones and missiles at Ukraine since launching its costly invasion more than three years ago.
The attack killed two women -- a 22-year-old policewoman, who was on overnight duty at a metro station, and a 68-year-old Kiev resident -- and wounded 16 people, officials said.
Police identified the victim as Maria Dziumaga, a "kind, cheerful, sincere, responsible, and dedicated police officer" who had joined in 2023.
AFP reporters saw firefighters putting out flames in a damaged residential building and people emerging from shelters, carrying sleeping mats and pets after the air alert was lifted.
Russia's defense ministry said the strike had targeted "military-industrial enterprises" in Kiev as well as airbases.
Coalition call
Russia's escalating attacks and record barrage point to a trend that has piled pressure on Ukraine's thinly stretched air defenses and exhausted the civilian population.
The U.N. announced after the that recent attacks on Ukrainian cities had led to a three-year high in the number of civilians killed or wounded in June.
"Civilians across Ukraine are facing levels of suffering we have not seen in over three years," said Danielle Bell, head of the U.N. Human Rights Monitoring Mission in Ukraine.
The U.N. verified at least 232 people killed and 1,343 wounded during the month -- the highest combined toll since April 2022.
Two rounds of direct talks between Russian and Ukrainian delegations this year secured more prisoner exchanges but made no progress on a ceasefire proposed by the United States and Ukraine.
The Kremlin however denied Thursday that peace talks to end its invasion had stalled.
"We cannot say that now," Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said, when asked if Moscow believed the negotiation process was slowing.
Russia was waiting for "signals from Kiev" for a third round of talks, he added.
