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Top US and Russian Diplomats Discuss Next Steps on Ukraine

Russia has momentum in many areas of the front in Ukraine. Handout / Russian Defense Ministry/AFP
Russia has momentum in many areas of the front in Ukraine. Handout / Russian Defense Ministry/AFP
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Top US and Russian Diplomats Discuss Next Steps on Ukraine

Russia has momentum in many areas of the front in Ukraine. Handout / Russian Defense Ministry/AFP
Russia has momentum in many areas of the front in Ukraine. Handout / Russian Defense Ministry/AFP

The top US and Russian diplomats discussed Saturday the "next steps" to end the war in Ukraine, hours after Kyiv's allies agreed to exert pressure on Moscow.
Despite recent tensions between US President Donald Trump and his Ukrainian counterpart Volodymyr Zelensky, Kyiv has agreed in principle to a US-brokered 30-day unconditional ceasefire -- if Moscow halts its attacks in eastern Ukraine.
Russia's President Vladimir Putin has not, however, agreed to any truce, instead setting conditions that were beyond what was called for in the US agreement with Ukraine.
The ceasefire proposal by Trump's team comes as Russia has momentum in many areas of the front in Ukraine.
US Secretary of State Marco Rubio and Russia's Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov, in a call on Saturday, "discussed next steps", State Department spokeswoman Tammy Bruce said.
Since returning to the White House in January, Trump has stressed his desire to end the three-year-old conflict, and has made a spectacular rapprochement with Putin.
The statement gave no details on when the next round of US-Russia talks hosted by Saudi Arabia would begin.
But Rubio and Lavrov also "agreed to continue working towards restoring communication between the United States and Russia," Bruce added.
'Moment of truth'
The call came after a virtual summit hosted by London earlier on Saturday.
At those talks, British Prime Minister Keir Starmer told some 26 fellow leaders that they should focus on how to strengthen Ukraine, protect any ceasefire and keep up the pressure on Moscow.
Starmer said Putin would eventually have to "come to the table".
"Putin is trying to delay -- saying there must be a painstaking study before a ceasefire can take place," he added.
Military leaders from about 30 countries met in Paris on March 11 to discuss plans for a peacekeeping force in Ukraine, and will meet again Thursday in Britain.
French President Emmanuel Macron on Saturday called for unified action to ensure Russia accepts the proposed ceasefire.
"This is a moment of truth because if Russia does not sincerely commit to peace, President Trump will toughen sanctions and retaliation, and so that will completely change the dynamic," Macron told French regional papers in an interview posted late Saturday.
"Russia must respond clearly and the pressure must be clear, in conjunction with the United States, to obtain this ceasefire," he said in a statement to AFP.
European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said that Russia had to show "it is willing to support a ceasefire leading to a just and lasting peace."
But Zelensky warned that Russia wanted to achieve a "stronger position" militarily ahead of any ceasefire, more than three years since it invaded Ukraine.
"They want to improve their situation on the battlefield," Zelensky told journalists in Kyiv.
Troops
Starmer and Macron have said they are willing to put British and French troops on the ground in Ukraine, but it is not clear if other countries are keen on doing the same.
Russia has rejected the idea of foreign soldiers acting as peacekeepers in Ukraine.
But Macron said Saturday: "If Ukraine asks allied forces to be on its territory, it is not up to Russia to accept or not."
Starmer has said he welcomes any offer of support for the coalition, raising the prospect that some countries could contribute logistics or surveillance.
Trump on Saturday appointed Keith Kellogg as special envoy to Ukraine.
A former national security advisor during Trump's first term, Kellogg had previously been described as a special envoy for both Ukraine and Russia.
But he was excluded from recent talks in Saudi Arabia on ending the war, with NBC News in the United States citing a senior Russian official who said that Putin considered him too pro-Ukraine.
Fighting continues, and Moscow has regained swathes of land this week in the Kursk border region.
In Russia, three civilians were injured on Saturday night when Ukrainian drones struck in the town of Gubkin and the village of Dolgoe in the Belgorod region, officials said on Telegram.

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Zelensky Seeks Patriot Systems from US to Counter Russia's Power Grid Attacks

Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelensky listens during a press conference in Kyiv on October 31, 2025, amid the Russian invasion of Ukraine. (Photo by Tetiana DZHAFAROVA / AFP)
Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelensky listens during a press conference in Kyiv on October 31, 2025, amid the Russian invasion of Ukraine. (Photo by Tetiana DZHAFAROVA / AFP)
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Zelensky Seeks Patriot Systems from US to Counter Russia's Power Grid Attacks

Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelensky listens during a press conference in Kyiv on October 31, 2025, amid the Russian invasion of Ukraine. (Photo by Tetiana DZHAFAROVA / AFP)
Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelensky listens during a press conference in Kyiv on October 31, 2025, amid the Russian invasion of Ukraine. (Photo by Tetiana DZHAFAROVA / AFP)

President Volodymyr Zelensky said Monday he wants to order 25 Patriot air defense systems from the United States, as Ukraine desperately tries to fend off relentless Russian aerial attacks that have brought rolling blackouts across Ukraine on the brink of winter.

Zelensky acknowledged that the Patriot systems are expensive and that such a large batch could take years to manufacture. But he said European countries could give their Patriots to Ukraine and await replacements, stressing that “we would not like to wait.”

Combined missile and drone strikes on the power grid have coincided with Ukraine’s frantic efforts to hold back a Russian battlefield push aimed at capturing the eastern stronghold of Pokrovsk. Meanwhile, international peace efforts appear to have dissipated, nearly four years after Russia invaded its neighbor.

Zelensky said Ukraine recently received more Patriot systems from Germany. It is not known how many Patriot systems are in Ukraine. But on the whole air defenses remain stretched thin across wide expanses of Ukrainian territory, and the threat to the provision of heating and running water in the bitter winter is acute.

NATO is coordinating regular deliveries of large weapons packages to Ukraine. European allies and Canada are buying much of the equipment from the United States. The Trump administration is not giving any arms to Ukraine, unlike the previous Biden administration.

Russia’s attacks on energy infrastructure have grown more effective. It launches hundreds of drones, some equipped with cameras to improve targeting, that overwhelm Ukraine’s air defenses, especially in regions where protection is weaker. Also, this year it is striking region by region, hitting local switchyards and substations, instead of taking aim at the centralized national grid.

Ukraine’s Energy Ministry said Monday that Russian attacks caused more damage to its power infrastructure, resulting in scheduled blackouts in most of the country’s regions. It urged Ukrainians to rationalize their use of electricity, especially during peak consumption hours in the mornings and evenings.

Meanwhile, the two sides were locked in a battle for control of Pokrovsk, in Ukraine’s eastern Donetsk region where Zelensky says Russia has assembled 170,000 troops for a renewed push.

There has been a relative lull in fighting in recent days, according to reports gathered by the Institute for the Study of War. But the Washington-based think tank said it expected Russian forces to quicken the tempo of their attacks in coming days as they move more troops into the city.

 

World

IAEA Inspectors Visited Iranian Nuclear Sites Last Week, Foreign Ministry Says 

People walk on a street in Tehran, Iran, November 5, 2025. Majid Asgaripour/WANA (West Asia News Agency) via Reuters
People walk on a street in Tehran, Iran, November 5, 2025. Majid Asgaripour/WANA (West Asia News Agency) via Reuters
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IAEA Inspectors Visited Iranian Nuclear Sites Last Week, Foreign Ministry Says 

People walk on a street in Tehran, Iran, November 5, 2025. Majid Asgaripour/WANA (West Asia News Agency) via Reuters
People walk on a street in Tehran, Iran, November 5, 2025. Majid Asgaripour/WANA (West Asia News Agency) via Reuters

Inspectors of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) visited Iranian nuclear sites last week, Iran's foreign ministry spokesperson said on Monday, according to state media, a week after the IAEA urged Iran to "seriously improve" cooperation.

The UN nuclear watchdog has carried out about a dozen inspections in Iran since hostilities with Israel in June, but last week highlighted it had not been given access to nuclear facilities such as Fordow, Natanz and Isfahan, which were bombed by the United States.

"As long as we are a member of the NPT (Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons), we will abide by our commitments, and just last week, IAEA inspectors visited several nuclear facilities, including the Tehran Research Reactor," Esmaeil Baghaei said, without naming the others.

IAEA chief Rafael Grossi said last week that Iran must "seriously improve" cooperation with the United Nations inspectors to avoid heightening tensions with the West.

Iranian officials have blamed the IAEA for providing a justification for Israel's bombing in a 12-day war in June, which began the day after the IAEA board voted to declare Iran in violation of obligations under the NPT.

Baghaei's comments on Monday were in response to Grossi saying last week that Iran "cannot say 'I remain within the non-proliferation of nuclear weapons treaty’, and then not comply with obligations".

World

Kremlin Denies Veteran Foreign Minister Lavrov Is in Putin’s Bad Books

Russia's Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov and US Secretary of State Marco Rubio speak during the 15th East Asia Summit Foreign Ministers' Meeting at the Convention Center in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia July 11, 2025. (AFP)
Russia's Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov and US Secretary of State Marco Rubio speak during the 15th East Asia Summit Foreign Ministers' Meeting at the Convention Center in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia July 11, 2025. (AFP)
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Kremlin Denies Veteran Foreign Minister Lavrov Is in Putin’s Bad Books

Russia's Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov and US Secretary of State Marco Rubio speak during the 15th East Asia Summit Foreign Ministers' Meeting at the Convention Center in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia July 11, 2025. (AFP)
Russia's Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov and US Secretary of State Marco Rubio speak during the 15th East Asia Summit Foreign Ministers' Meeting at the Convention Center in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia July 11, 2025. (AFP)

The Kremlin on Monday denied reports that veteran Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov had fallen out with Russian President Vladimir Putin after the diplomat's protracted public absence raised questions.  

Speculation about Lavrov's future arose following reports of a tense phone call with US Secretary of State Marco Rubio that resulted in a planned summit between Putin and President Donald Trump being cancelled.  

Lavrov was notably absent from the Kremlin chief's high-profile televised meeting with top officials on nuclear testing last week, and was also not named as Russia's envoy to the G20 summit in South Africa later this month -- a forum where he typically stepped in for Putin.  

"All these reports are absolutely false," Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters in response to a question by AFP over the alleged spat, adding Lavrov was continuing to work. 

"When appropriate public events take place, then you will see him."  

Lavrov, a 75-year-old heavyweight of Russian politics, has been in office for 21 years and is the longest-serving member of Putin's cabinet.  

According to the foreign ministry website, Lavrov last appeared in public at a live event on October 28, though video interviews of him have been published since. 

Trump in October shelved a planned summit with Putin over the Ukraine war and slapped Moscow with new sanctions after saying the Kremlin leader was not serious about ending the conflict.  

Known for his sardonic humor and sometimes obscene remarks, he accompanied Putin to Alaska for a summit with Trump in August, where he wore a shirt emblazoned with "USSR" on it for media interviews.