US Secretary of State Marco Rubio said a deal to end Russia's invasion of Ukraine is "closer" as Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy called for greater international pressure on the Kremlin following the latest wave of attacks along the front line.
"They [Russia and Ukraine] are closer in general than they have been anytime in the last three years, but it's still not there," Rubio said in an interview with NBC News on April 27.
"We have made real progress, but those last couple of steps of this journey were always going to be the hardest ones, and it needs to happen soon," he said, adding this would be a "very critical week" in the negotiation process.
US President Donald Trump has made ending the 38-month war a top priority since taking office nearly 100 days ago, calling last month for an immediate and full cease-fire.
Your browser doesn’t support HTML5
Three Dead From Russian Attacks In Donetsk Region
While Zelenskyy has agreed to Trump's proposal, his Russian counterpart, President Vladimir Putin, has continued to negotiate details of a cease-fire with Washington.
Experts say Putin is dragging out talks because his forces have the momentum on the battlefield and a cease-fire at the current line of contact would leave him short of the goal of fully capturing the four regions of eastern Ukraine that Russia claims to have annexed in 2022: Donetsk, Luhansk, Zaporizhzhya, and Kherson.
Russian troops launched almost 70 attacks along the 1,000-kilometer-long front on April 27, Zelenskyy said in a post on X as he called on the West to take tougher measures against the Kremlin.
SEE ALSO: Moscow, Pyongyang Confirm North Korean Troops Fighting Against Ukraine"The situation on the front line and the real activity of the Russian Army prove that the current global pressure on Russia is insufficient to bring this war to an end. Soon, it will be 50 days since Russia began ignoring [Trump's] proposal for a full and unconditional cease-fire -- a proposal Ukraine accepted back on March 11. More tangible pressure on Russia is needed to create more opportunities for real diplomacy," he said.
The Ukrainian leader also said his forces were continuing to fight in the Russian region of Kursk, contradicting Moscow's claims earlier in the day that it had driven Ukrainian troops from its territory.
Trump And Zelenskyy Meet At The Vatican
The day before, Trump met with Zelenskyy at the Vatican in Rome, where both were attending funeral services for Pope Francis, who died Easter Monday at the age of 88.
The April 26 meeting, which lasted about 15 minutes, was their first since Trump kicked Zelenskyy out of the Oval Office in February following a public spat over peace talks that shocked allies.
Steven Cheung, the White House's communications director, said Trump and Zelenskyy "had a very productive discussion."
Zelenskyy called it a "very symbolic meeting that has potential to become historic, if we achieve joint results," he added.
Your browser doesn’t support HTML5
Trump And Zelenskyy Attend Pope's Funeral, Speak Privately
John Bolton, Trump's former national-security adviser during his first term and a staunch critic of the president, told CNN the meeting was "a significant step back toward sensible conversation between the two leaders."
Trump and Zelenskyy also met with French President Emmanuel Macron and British Prime Minister Keir Starmer on the sidelines of the funeral.
Macron's office described the exchanges between leaders as "positive" and said he later met separately with Zelenskyy.
Starmer's office said he and Zelenskyy had "discussed positive progress made in recent days to secure a just and lasting peace in Ukraine."
SEE ALSO: After US Snubs London Meeting, What's Europe's Game Plan For Ukraine-Russia Peace Talks?Trump's Rare Critique Of Putin
Following the meeting with Zelenskyy, Trump made a rare critique of Putin, denouncing Russia's continued attacks on Ukraine, which have killed dozens of civilians over the past two weeks.
"There was no reason for Putin to be shooting missiles into civilian areas, cities and towns, over the last few days. 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'?," he wrote in the post later on April 26.
Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said Moscow only targets "military goals or civilian sites used by the [Ukrainian] military," insinuating that Ukraine is placing forces, weapons, or command and control nodes around apartment and commercial buildings.
But Trump's critique of Putin also came shortly after he made his most definitive statement to date about the need for Ukraine to cede territory to Russia to secure a peace deal. He said in a Time magazine interview published on April 25 that "Crimea will stay with Russia."
SEE ALSO: Trump Talk Of Imminent Deal Sharpens Focus On Ukraine DiplomacyBolton said in the CNN interview that a permanent peace deal is "a long way away" because the terms that Trump is backing essentially "amounts to surrender for Ukraine."
Russia wants any peace deal to recognize its control of nearly 20 percent of Ukraine, including Crimea. It also wants Ukraine to be de-militarized and kept out of NATO. Moscow has also rejected Kyiv's demand for a Western peacekeeping force to monitor any cease-fire agreement.
Rubio reiterated in the NBC interview that Russia would have to make concessions too, but the Trump administration has not outlined any to date.
“The only solution to this war is a negotiated settlement where both sides are going to have to give up something they claim to want, and are going to have to give the other side something they wish they didn’t,” Rubio said. “That’s how you end wars, and that’s what we’re trying to achieve here so more people won’t die.”
Rubio appeared to play down the possibility of imposing new sanctions on Russia to force Moscow to agree to a peace deal.
"The minute you start doing that kind of stuff, you’re walking away from it -- you’ve now doomed yourself to another two years of war, and we don’t want to see it happen...No one else is talking to both sides but us.”
Zelenskyy has said that Kyiv will not recognize Russian sovereignty of its territory, but the Ukrainian leader is in a tough position.
His country is heavily dependent on US military aid, especially air defense, rocket launches, and ammunition. Current US military aid approved in 2024 may run out this summer and it is unclear whether the Trump administration will approve additional weapons delivers should the war still be in progress.
SEE ALSO: Inside The Ukraine-US Minerals Deal (It's Not What You Might Think)Trump has repeatedly criticized the amount of aid the United States has given to Ukraine and has demanded Washington be reimbursed for its support. The US Government Accountability Office has estimated US aid to Ukraine since Russia launched its invasion at more than $170 billion.
Trump wants Ukraine to give the United States access to its critical minerals and natural resources as a form of compensation. Washington and Kyiv have been in talks for months about the parameters of a deal but have yet to reach an agreement.
Trump on April 25 criticized Zelenskyy for the delay, saying the deal was "at least three weeks late." Rubio did not say whether he expects the United States and Ukraine to sign the deal during this "very critical" week.
Speaking to Fox News on April 27, White House national-security adviser Mike Waltz suggested the sides could be close to finalizing a minerals deal.
"The Ukraine deal is going to get done,” he said.
"The negotiators were working hard over the weekend. That is first and foremost...on the president's mind. It's going to get done. The president is determined to make it so," he added.