Ukraine suspects Russia is not really interested in pausing the conflict and ending the war, and the head of the country’s delegation, Defence Minister Rustem Umerov, said the key points could only be resolved at face-to-face talks between President Zelensky and President Putin.

Western countries must put pressure on Russia if it turns the negotiations with Ukraine in Istanbul into empty talk, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said at a press conference following the Bucharest Nine summit.

Some 150 droves are transported by truck to inside Russia, where swarms of drones arose from them and went on the attack.

Russian and Ukrainian officials are due to sit down on Monday in the Turkish city of Istanbul for their second round of direct peace talks since 2022, but the two sides are still far apart on how to end the war and the fighting is stepping up.

The U.K. has been reassessing its defense spending since Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022.

It was already hard to imagine a breakthrough emerging from the direct talks between Russia and Ukraine set to be renewed in Istanbul on Monday.

I would expect next week that the Senate will start moving the sanctions bill,” said Graham, an ally of President Trump but also a firm backer of Ukraine’s war efforts.