The president said he had exchanged “pretty strong words” with European leaders, while Russia signaled it saw itself as increasingly on the same page as the U.S.

Moscow pounded Ukrainian power infrastructure with drone and missile strikes on Saturday and Kyiv launched a deadly strike of its own on southwestern Russia, a day before talks involving senior European and U.S. officials aimed at ending the war were set to resume.

A senior House Republican has escalated his criticism of the Trump administration for suggesting Ukraine trade land for peace with Russia.

Ukraine delivered its response to the latest US-drafted peace proposal aimed at ending the war with Russia to the Trump administration on Wednesday, US and Ukrainian officials told CNN, as the contours of a tenuous potential deal take shape and the US president continues to make clear he wants the conflict resolved quickly.

Ukraine's Zelensky said he cannot cede land to Russia as he has no legal or moral right to do so. Follow Newsweek's live coverage.

British Prime Minister Keir Starmer and European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen held talks on Saturday on US-led peace efforts for Ukraine and the possible use of frozen Russian assets to support Kyiv,

The Nebraska Republican criticized the president for "trashing Europe" while favoring Russia in comments to NBC News.

The leaders of Germany, Britain and France were among those expected to take part in the meeting of Ukraine's allies, dubbed the Coalition of the Willing, via video link.