Ukraine’s military said Russia “increased the intensity” of its fighting during what Secretary of State Marco Rubio called “a very critical week” for peace talks.
The General Staff of the Armed Forces of Ukraine reported that there have been 177 combat clashes over the past day, including 91 airstrikes “at the positions of Ukrainian units and settlements.” The fighting comes despite Russian President Vladimir Putin recently announcing a three-day ceasefire next month to mark the 80th anniversary of World War II Victory Day.
“Despite loud statements of ceasefire readiness for the May holidays, the occupiers have significantly increased the intensity of the fighting,” Gen. Oleksandr Syrskyi, the head of Ukraine’s military, said in a statement Wednesday.
During a Sunday morning appearance on NBC’s “Meet the Press,” Rubio said a peace deal between Ukraine and Russia is “still not there,” but noted that “a very critical week” lies ahead in that effort.
RUBIO TAKES SOMBER TONE ON RUSSIA-UKRAINE PEACE DEAL: ‘CLOSE BUT NOT ENOUGH’
“The last week has been about figuring out how close are these sides really, and are they close enough that this merits a continued investment of our time as a mediator in this regard,” Rubio said.
“This week is going to be a very important week at which we need to make a determination about whether this is an endeavor that we want to continue to be involved in, or if it’s time to sort of focus on some other issues that are equally if not more important in some cases,” he continued.
“We’ve made real progress, but the last couple steps of this journey were always going to be the hardest,” Rubio also said. “It needs to happen soon. We cannot continue to, as I said, to dedicate time and resources to this issue if it’s not gonna come to fruition.”
RUSSIA DECLARES 3-DAY CEASEFIRE IN UKRAINE FOR WWII VICTORY DAY
The White House revealed Monday that President Donald Trump wants to do “whatever it takes” to bring Putin to the table for peace talks with Ukraine, including slapping Russia with additional sanctions.
Over the weekend, Trump wrote on Truth Social, “This is Sleepy Joe Biden’s War, not mine.”
“It was a loser from day one, and should have never happened, and wouldn’t have happened if I were President at the time. I’m just trying to clean up the mess that was left to me by Obama and Biden, and what a mess it is. With all of that being said, there was no reason for Putin to be shooting missiles into civilian areas, cities and towns, over the last few days,” Trump wrote. “It makes me think that maybe he doesn’t want to stop the war, he’s just tapping me along, and has to be dealt with differently, through ‘Banking’ or ‘Secondary Sanctions?’ Too many people are dying!!!”
Fox News Digital’s Anders Hagstrom and Stephen Sorace contributed to this report.