Ukrainian Deputy Foreign Minister Sergiy Kyslytsya said Kyiv formally suspended negotiations with Moscow - Anadolu Ajansı

Russia said its forces continue to make gains around Pokrovsk as Moscow intensifies efforts to penetrate the battered Ukrainian city with local officials calling the situation difficult.

Peace talks with Russia this year ended with almost no results and have therefore been suspended, First Deputy Foreign Minister of Ukraine Sergiy Kyslytsya said, according to The Times. With this year's peace talks ending with little progress made,

According to Witkoff, ending the war in Ukraine will become possible after the final resolution of the conflict between Israel and Hamas. As Ukrinform reported, U.S. President Donald Trump wants his team, after concluding a peace agreement in the Middle East, to focus on negotiations with the Russians to end the war in Ukraine.

Russia's top diplomat says he's ready to meet with U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio, but Russia won't abandon its conditions for ending the war in Ukraine.

Moscow, whose forces are trying to take control of the city of Pokrovsk in eastern Ukraine, has accused Ukrainian officials of refusing to engage in peace talks. Kyiv says Moscow's terms to end the war are unacceptable and tantamount to asking it to surrender.

Russia said on Thursday that any dialogue with Japan regarding a peace treaty to formally end World War Two could only begin once Tokyo abandoned what Moscow described as a damaging "anti-Russian" stance.

Japan has signalled that it may introduce new sanctions on Russia, marking a possible shift in its approach. Japanese Defence Minister Minoru Kihara stated that Japan’s next steps will depend on the progress of peace efforts and the country’s national interests.