Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni said in a statement on Tuesday that Pope Leo had confirmed during a phone call with her his willingness to host in the Vatican the next round of negotiations to try to end the war between Russia and Ukraine.

KYIV, Ukraine (AP) — Kyiv’s European allies slapped new sanctions Tuesday on Moscow, a day after a phone call between U.S. President Donald Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin failed to produce a breakthrough on ending the 3-year-old war in Ukraine.

U.S. President Donald Trump’s phone calls with the leaders of Russia and Ukraine have deepened expectations that progress might soon be made on ending those countries’ more than three-year war

Ukrainian President Vlodomyr Zelenskyy shared details on his meeting with Vice President JD Vance and Secretary of State Marco Rubio in Rome on Sunday.

Russia has battered Ukraine overnight with its largest drone attack since the war began, Ukraine’s military said Sunday, as Moscow intensified its military assault despite holding direct peace talks with Kyiv Friday.

Ukrainian officials and analysts say Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has few options but to draw U.S. President Donald Trump’s ire against Vladimir Putin, while depending on Europe’s support.

The deadly attack came just hours after Russia and Ukraine agreed to exchange 1,000 prisoners of war each, following brief peace talks in Turkey that lasted less than two hours. Kyiv was far less positive about the talks, accusing Moscow of making “unacceptable demands” which were “detached from reality”.

March 29, 2022: Talks begin in Istanbul, with Moscow saying it’s willing to “fundamentally cut back” military activity near Kyiv and the northern city of Chernihiv, while Ukraine said it was open to discussing neutral status for Ukraine if its security is backed by other nations.