WASHINGTON - A planned meeting in Hungary between US President Donald Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin has been postponed on Tuesday, with no new date set, according to US and Russian officials.
Preparations for a possible meeting in Budapest, Hungary, were put on hold following what was described as a "constructive but inconclusive" phone conversation between US Secretary of State Marco Rubio and Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov earlier this week, the officials said.
Following a phone conversation with Putin last week, Trump said he was ready to meet the Russian leader soon to seek a breakthrough in efforts to end the Russia-Ukraine conflict. However, the US president told reporters in Washington on Tuesday that he did not want to have "a wasted meeting."
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Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said the timing of a possible summit remains undecided, stressing that "serious preparation" would be required before any meeting could take place.
Despite the delay, Russia's special envoy for investment and economic cooperation, Kirill Dmitriev, said late Tuesday on his X account that "preparations continue" for a future summit, adding that the meeting had not been canceled.
The summit delay followed Trump's meeting with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky at the White House on Friday, where he ruled out a trilateral summit with Russia and Ukraine, citing deep tensions between Moscow and Kyiv.
Trump and Putin met in the US state of Alaska in August, but no deal was reached, and ceasefire negotiations remain deadlocked.
Russian missile strikes
Meanwhile, Russian overnight missile strikes hit several districts in Kyiv, Ukrainian officials reported early Wednesday, as both sides confirmed cross-border attacks in the latest flare-up of the conflict.
Kyiv Mayor Vitali Klitschko said fires broke out after debris from destroyed air weapons fell across the capital, igniting cars and shattering windows. No casualties were reported, he wrote on the Telegram messaging app.
In the surrounding Kyiv region, a private home caught fire, injuring an elderly woman, regional governor Mykola Kalashnyk said.
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There was no immediate response from Moscow.
Ukraine's military said late Tuesday it had struck a chemical plant in western Russia's Bryansk region, a key site for gunpowder, explosives and rocket fuel.
The operation reportedly included Storm Shadow air-launched missiles.
Russia's Defense Ministry said on Tuesday afternoon in a Telegram post that its air defenses destroyed 137 Ukrainian drones. Of these, 57 drones were downed over the Bryansk region, while no injuries or damage were reported, according to regional governor Alexander Bogomaz.
