The diplomatic exchange came just hours after Russia launched a second consecutive night of air strikes on the Ukrainian capital.

Russian President Vladimir Putin’s forces launched a massive aerial assault on Ukraine early Thursday for the second time in two days.

Tensions between the U.S. and its NATO allies have cooled off since most of the alliance's member states agreed to increase their defense spending from 2 percent of GDP to 5 percent by 2035, which many Trump supporters say is proof that his hard-charging negotiating tactics, even among friends, produces results.

U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio said Thursday that the United States and Russia have exchanged new ideas for Ukraine peace talks after he met with his Russian counterpart in Malaysia.

Trump ‘disappointed and frustrated’ by Moscow’s ‘lack of flexibility’ to end war, says Rubio - Rubio’s meeting with Lavrov follows intensified aerial strikes on Ukraine

Following the Pentagon announcing a pause on weapons, the U.S. president said Ukraine must defend itself from Russia.

Latest news and live updates as Marco Rubio meet with Russian foreign minister amid tensions over Ukraine and Trump releases tariff letters to trading partners.

Keith Kellogg, US President Donald Trump's special envoy for Ukraine, has spoken on behalf of the US administration about the expectations for Ukraine's post-war recovery. Source: European Pravda, reporting from the Ukraine Recovery Conference (URC-2025) in Rome Details: Kellogg emphasised that the US supports large-scale investment in Ukraine