Marco Rubio’s assessment that the war in Ukraine is in a stalemate is correct, said a spokesman for the Kremlin on Thursday.
Hours after the US secretary of state had said there was currently “no prospect of a negotiated settlement” between Ukraine and Russia, Dmitry Peskov told agency reporters that he agreed with him.
"The art of diplomacy precisely involves finding some way out that would allow moving onto a peaceful track," Mr Peskov was quoted as saying.
US envoys Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner will meet Ukrainian representatives on Friday in Miami to discuss new ideas and try to produce a unified proposal for resolving the war, an American source familiar with the plan said on Thursday.
Fighting continued on Thursday with deaths reported on both sides.
In Kramatorsk in Ukraine’s Donetsk region, 30 people were killed when a Russian-guided bomb exploded next to public buses.
"There is no doubt that Russia is cynically targeting civilians," Oleksandr Honcharenko, head of the city's military administration, said.
Meanwhile, local authorities in Russia’s border region of Belgorod said two people died when a Ukrainian drone struck a car.
Zelensky says Ukraine expects Europeans to join talks with US
Volodymyr Zelensky said that Ukraine expected Kyiv's European partners to join talks with the US in coming days.
Zelenskiy earlier said that Ukraine's negotiators would hold talks in the United States on Friday and Saturday as part of efforts led by the United States to seek a settlement of the war with Russia.
The president, speaking to reporters in Kyiv, said Ukrainian negotiators would raise the issue of air defences in light of near-constant Russian attacks on Ukrainian cities. More than 70 have been killed in strikes over the past two days.
Zelenskiy also said Ukraine had "mirrored" Russian attacks on data centres, referring to a strike on a centre operated by Russian technology company Yandex.
"We always respond in mirror-like fashion," Zelenskiy said. "You all know, they have been hitting and continue to hit our data centres. We are responding. I can't share all the details."
Russian technology and AI company Yandex said on Thursday it could not yet determine whether equipment at a data centre hit by a Ukrainian drone attack could be restored.
Russian drone strike on Kramatorsk kills two, local authorities say
A new evening drone strike on the eastern Ukrainian city of Kramatorsk killed two people on Thursday, local authorities said.
The Kramatorsk city council, in a post on Telegram, said the drone struck a car, killing two people inside. It said a total of 35 people had been killed in the city after a bomb attack tore through two buses.
Russia agrees with Rubio that Ukraine conflict is in a stalemate
Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov was quoted as saying on Thursday that Russia agreed with US Secretary of State Marco Rubio that the Ukraine conflict was in a stalemate.
"Yes, we agree with him," Russian news agencies quoted Peskov as saying on the sidelines of a meeting of leaders of ex-Soviet states in Turkmenistan.
State news agency RIA quoted Peskov as saying it was up to diplomats to find ways of moving towards peace.
"The art of diplomacy precisely involves finding some way out that would allow moving onto a peaceful track," Peskov was quoted as saying.
US envoys Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner will meet Ukrainian representatives on Friday in Miami to discuss new ideas and try to produce a unified proposal for resolving the war, an American source familiar with the plan said on Thursday.
Peskov was quoted as saying he saw no immediate prospect for a three-way summit between Putin, Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelensky and US President Donald Trump.
He restated the Kremlin's position that Russia wanted an overall solution to the conflict and was not interested in temporary measures, like a limited ceasefire.
"We are not for a fragmented solution, we are for a comprehensive solution that will allow for sustainable settlement for many, many years, for decades," the agencies quoted him as saying.
The crippling effect we’re all feeling from the deadlock in Ukraine’s war with Russia
Two of the world’s largest exporters of grain, locked in war for more than four years, have seen exports plunge even further over the last year. Prolonged conflict around the Black Sea threatens both economies - and those most in need, writes James C. Reynolds.
Rubio claims war in Ukraine is 'at dangerous stalemate'
US Secretary of State Marco Rubio said on Thursday that Russia's war in Ukraine is at a dangerous stalemate and the United States will continue to try to facilitate a settlement to end the conflict.
"We'd love to see a negotiated settlement to this war that is permanent, enduring, and fair," Rubio told reporters during a visit to Portugal.
Pictured: Miliband visits Ukraine to meet Zelensky
Why North Korea is at the heart of South Korea’s strange rift with Ukraine
The unusual public confrontation between Ukraine and South Korea has raised questions about how relations between two nations facing the consequences of growing Russian-North Korean military cooperation deteriorated so sharply, Shweta Sharma reports.
Drone attacks industrial zone in Russia's Omsk region, governor says
An industrial zone was hit by a drone in Russia's Omsk region, Vitaly Khotsenko, the region's governor, said on Thursday, without providing details.
Ukraine, under heavy missile and drone attack from Russia, is waging its own campaign of long-distance drone strikes against military, energy and commercial targets in a bid to raise the cost to Moscow of continuing the war.
The Omsk region, which is in Siberia, hosts an oil refinery operated by Gazpromneft.
Full story: UK welcome to rejoin EU ‘anytime’, French finance minister says as Burnham visits Berlin
France’s finance minister said the UK would be welcome to rejoin the EU “anytime”, as Andy Burnham visits Berlin after suggesting a return to the bloc could be possible.
Alongside his first face-to-face talks with German chancellor Friedrich Merz, the leaders have established a joint UK-Germany security framework aimed at countering cyber attacks, sabotage and other hybrid threats from hostile foreign actors, particularly Russia.
The strategic agreement will see both countries share intelligence and coordinate action to monitor, deter and disrupt potential dangers, while building greater resilience around critical national infrastructure.
Ukraine grapples with a shortage of troops at the front after over 4 years of war
Ukraine’s advances in drone technology and tactics have captured the world’s attention. Despite those innovations, one problem has plagued the country since the start of Russia’s invasion: a shortage of combat-ready troops.
Ukraine always has been outmanned by Russia, but as the war drags through its fifth year, the need for personnel is increasingly acute, commanders and analysts say, with some units at only half strength. There just aren't enough forces to fully exploit the battlefield advantages resulting from the drone innovations.
“Based on the equipment and the number of people we have today, we barely have enough to hold the sector we currently have," said a deputy commander of the Da Vinci Wolves battalion in eastern Ukraine's Pokrovsk area, a focus of Russia’s offensive.