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US Secretary of State Marco Rubio and Russia's foreign minister Sergey Lavrov spoke late on June 1 at the latter's request soon after tensions between Moscow and Kyiv escalated.
"Secretary of State Marco Rubio spoke today with Russian Foreign Minister Lavrov, at Russia’s request. Secretary Rubio reiterated President (Donald ) Trump’s call for continued direct talks between Russia and Ukraine to achieve a lasting peace," US department of state spokesperson Tammy Bruce said in a statement.
The Russian foreign minister said "the situation linked to the Ukraine crisis was discussed".
"SV Lavrov and M Rubio also exchanged views on various initiatives concerning a settlement of the Ukraine crisis, including plans to resume direct Russian-Ukrainian talks in Istanbul on June 2."
The ministry also said that during the conversation Rubio expressed condolences over deaths that occurred when two bridges were blown up in separate Russian regions bordering Ukraine.
Russian officials said at least seven people were killed and 69 injured when the two bridges were blown up on Saturday.
The talks come after Ukraine staged a dramatic series of strikes across Russia, deploying drones hidden in trucks deep inside the country to hit strategic airfields as far away as eastern Siberia.
Around the same time, Moscow launched one of its longest drone and missile attacks against Kyiv, escalating tensions ahead of crucial peace talks this week.
According to reports, over 40 Russian aircraft, including the Tu-95 and Tu-22 M3 long-range bombers capable of deploying conventional and nuclear weapons as well as the A-50, have been damaged in the operation on Sunday.
In a series of posts on X, Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelenskyy hailed the operations and revealed that the plan took a year and half to prepare.
"Today, a brilliant operation was carried out — on enemy territory, targeting only military objectives, specifically the equipment used to strike Ukraine. Russia suffered significant losses — entirely justified and deserved," Zelenskyy said.
With agency inputs
