Russia shows no rush for a deal to end the war in Ukraine and “there is no deadline” as Trump calls for a ceasefire.

Geneva – Russia signaled on Thursday that it was in no rush to conclude a deal war in Ukrainehours later it attacked the neighboring country with hundreds of fighter jets and missiles and as US and Ukrainian officials met in Geneva to discuss efforts to end the war.

President Trump has been calling for an end to Europe’s deadliest conflict since World War II, but has so far failed to broker an agreement between Moscow and Kyiv. Previous US-led talks between Russian and Ukrainian officials in Geneva and Abu Dhabi have failed to produce consensus, with Moscow’s demand to take legal ownership of much of Ukraine proving a sticking point.

Russia, which for years has refused to give up its position of full control of Ukraine’s eastern Donetsk region, said on Thursday it was too early to predict when a deal would be reached.

“Have you heard anything from us about the deadlines? We don’t have deadlines, we have tasks. We are doing them,” said Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov, telling the country’s media in Moscow, two days before the meeting began. the fifth year of his country’s full invasion from Ukraine.

Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov also said it was too early to make “predictions” or say what stage the peace process is at, telling state media “it would be a big mistake to try at the moment to define some kind of stage or make some kind of predictions. I don’t want to make those mistakes.”

Kyiv has called for a leaders’ meeting between Vladimir Putin and Volodymyr Zelenskyy to end the standoff, and Ukraine hopes to lay the groundwork for such a summit during talks Thursday with US officials.

“Today in Geneva we continue our work within the framework of the negotiation process. The bilateral meeting with the American delegation has started – with Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner,” said Ukraine’s leading negotiator Rustem Umerov, adding that Ukraine intends to “harmonize positions” with Washington before new trilateral talks in March.

Russian chief negotiator Kirill Dmitriev was planning to be in Geneva on Thursday, although there are no indications that he plans to meet with the Ukrainian side, according to Russian state media.

“Dmitriev plans to arrive in Geneva on Thursday to hold talks with the Americans on economic issues,” Russian news agency TASS quoted an unnamed source as saying.

Talks between Moscow and Kyiv remain deadlocked over the fate of the Donbas – an industrial region in eastern Ukraine that has become a hotbed of fighting. Russia wants full control of Ukraine’s eastern region of Donetsk, which makes up most of Donbas, and has threatened to take it by force if Kyiv does not budge from the negotiating table.

But Ukraine has rejected the demand and has signaled that it will not sign the deal without security guarantees preventing Russia from further aggression.

“The oppressor should not be rewarded for the war,” Zelenskyy said in a press release on Thursday. “For peace to last, everyone must understand – these are not just words.”

Another night of Russian drone and missile attacks in Ukraine

Hours before the meeting, the Russian military launched 420 drones and 39 missiles in Ukraine, injuring more than a dozen people in at least six different regions, according to authorities.

AFP reporters heard multiple explosions in central Kyiv shortly after authorities warned Russia to launch an offensive.

The strikes hit a power station in the southern Odesa region, and a school building in southern Zaporizhzhia, according to officials.

“Destruction was recorded in eight regions, with many people’s homes and apartments damaged,” Zelenskyy said.

Zelenskyy spoke with President Trump on Wednesday before the talks, with US envoys Witkoff and Kushner part of the 30-minute call.

“We expect that this meeting (in Geneva) will create an opportunity to move the discussions to the level of leaders. President Trump supports this sequence of steps,” said Zelenskyy.

After first refusing to negotiate with Russia, Zelenskyy repeatedly said that the only way to solve difficult problems, including the field, is a meeting with Putin.