US and Russia split on Ukraine peace talks as war rages on

Russia’s assault on Ukraine showed no signs of slowing down over the weekend.

(NBC)- Russia’s assault on Ukraine showed no signs of slowing down over the weekend, with strikes targeting energy infrastructure and even an American-owned electronics factory. As the fighting dragged on, Washington and Moscow offered sharply different views about the path to peace.

Vice President JD Vance pointed to progress following President Trump’s separate meetings with Russian President Vladimir Putin and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy.

“This is the energetic diplomacy that’s going to bring this war to a close,” Vance said.

But Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov dismissed talk of an imminent summit, saying, “There is no meeting planned. Putin is ready to meet with Zelenskyy when the agenda would be ready for a summit. And this agenda is not ready at all.”

Lavrov stressed that key issues — including security guarantees for Ukraine and disputes over territory — remain unresolved. “Zelenskyy said no to everything,” Lavrov added. “How can we meet with a person who is pretending to be a leader?”

On NBC’s Meet the Press, Vance rejected the idea that Russia was stringing President Trump along. “No, not at all, Kristen,” he said. “I think the Russians have made significant concessions to President Trump for the first time in three and a half years of this conflict.”

Trump, meanwhile, raised the possibility of new punishments for Moscow. “Massive sanctions or massive tariffs or both,” he said, “or we do nothing and say it’s your fight.”

In Ukraine, citizens marked 34 years of independence on Sunday — a celebration shadowed by an uncertain future.

There was one glimmer of progress: Russia and Ukraine carried out another large-scale prisoner swap, exchanging 164 prisoners of war on each side. The move offered some hope that despite deep divisions, negotiations are not entirely stalled.