Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov and US top diplomat Marco Rubio held "frank" talks on the Ukraine war during a meeting Thursday, both sides said, as Washington hit out at Moscow's lack of "flexibility".

The U.S. secretary of state met with his Russian counterpart on the sidelines of a gathering of Southeast Asian nations, where he also defended new U.S. tariff threats.

U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio said Thursday that the United States and Russia have exchanged new ideas for Ukraine peace talks after he met with his Russian counterpart in Malaysia.

Malaysia is keen to increase enrolment for Malaysian students, particularly for Technical and Vocational Education and Training (TVET) programmes, in Russia.

Secretary Rubio expressed “disappointment and frustration” with the lack of progress in Ukraine peace talks after meeting with his Russian counterpart, Lavrov.

Kyiv was the main target of an hourslong assault that killed at least two people, officials said. The barrage came hours before the top American and Russian diplomats met.

Participants at the Rome conference for the recovery of Ukraine commit over 10 billion euros, and Pedro Sánchez has announced the creation of an office and a business forum for this purpose. After the 13 missiles and 728 drones launched yesterday by Russia,