For months, President Donald Trump resisted calls to slap new sanctions on Russia, believing he could end the war in a deal with Vladimir Putin — including with a quick peace summit in the coming weeks in Budapest.

Russian President Vladimir Putin has directed drills of the country’s strategic nuclear forces that featured practice missile launches

It was, perhaps, the costliest phone call in history. When Sergei Lavrov, the Russian foreign minister, told his American counterpart on Monday that the Kremlin had not budged from its demand for an even bigger slice of Ukraine than its forces currently hold,

The drone and missile attacks on Ukraine came as the US president put on hold his plans for an imminent summit in Budapest.

At least six people were killed overnight, shortly after the American president announced that he did not "want to have a waste of time" holding a summit with the Russian leader.

President Trump said last week that he and Russian President Vladimir Putin would meet in Budapest, Hungary, though he did not say when.