Undeterred by Trump’s disappointment, Putin doubles down with massive strikes on Ukraine

The strikes came less than 24 hours after he held a meeting with retired Lt. Gen. Keith Kellogg, Trump’s special envoy to Ukraine, in Rome, where the two discussed Kyiv’s supply of weapons and strengthening air defense.

In an address after their meeting, Zelenskyy said these were priorities “against the backdrop of increasing Russian attacks,” and he thanked Trump for his support after Washington resumed weapons deliveries to the war-torn country.

Elsewhere on Thursday, Secretary of State Marco Rubio met with Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov on the sidelines of the ASEAN foreign ministers’ meeting in Malaysia.

Rubio told reporters Russia had presented “a new and a different approach” to ending the war but said he wouldn’t characterize the proposal “as something that guarantees a peace but it’s a concept that I’ll take back to the president.”

“I don’t want to overpromise,” he added, pointing to the “acceleration” of Russian attacks on Ukraine.

Rubio added that he remained frustrated by the lack of progress in talks about a ceasefire, echoing comments from Trump who has grown increasingly irked with Putin as the war drags on.