US Secretary of State Marco Rubio expressed disappointment after his meeting with Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov due to the lack of progress from Russia on the issue of ending the war in Ukraine, News.bg reports.
According to the Institute for the Study of War (ISW), Rubio conveyed to Lavrov President Donald Trump's disappointment with Moscow's “insufficient flexibility“ to achieve peace.
The two ministers discussed the possibility of a new approach and the creation of a “roadmap“ to end the conflict. However, the Russian Foreign Ministry insists that the talks were also focused on the “mutual intention“ to find a solution. However, the Kremlin continues to emphasize its initial military goals, a change of Ukrainian leadership and the "demilitarization" of the country. On July 9, Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova repeated these demands, and a day later Dmitry Peskov said that Russia prefers diplomatic means, but takes into account the "realities on the ground".
This formulation is often used by the Kremlin to present its military successes and put pressure on Ukraine to surrender. In parallel, Russian diplomacy is trying to shift the focus of the negotiations to the restoration of relations with the United States. According to the Russian report of the meeting between Rubio and Lavrov, a significant part of the conversation was devoted to economic, humanitarian and diplomatic cooperation, outside the topic of the war.
Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Ryabkov stressed that there is no slowdown in the development of bilateral relations. According to ISW, the Kremlin is using these economic initiatives and the prospect of arms control to demand concessions from Washington regarding the war. Vladimir Putin has also made unsuccessful attempts to use the Iranian nuclear negotiations and the Israeli-Iranian conflict to present himself as an effective mediator with Trump.
ISW believes that the Kremlin is aiming to force the US to end its diplomatic efforts to stop the war in exchange for better bilateral relations.
According to an analysis by "The Economist", if Russia continues its offensive at its current pace of about 15 sq. km. per day, it will take it nearly 89 years to capture all of Ukraine. Since the start of the "Summer 2025" offensive, which began on May 1, Russia has lost about 31,000 soldiers, while gaining only 0.038 sq. km. per soldier killed. Ukraine reports an even lower ratio: about 0.0059 sq. km. per Russian soldier killed or wounded.
Russian forces are expected to continue their attempts to seize full control of the Luhansk and Donetsk regions and advance into the Dnipropetrovsk and Sumy regions.
On July 9, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky met in Rome with General Keith Kellogg, the U.S. special envoy for Ukraine. Their talks focused on arms supplies, strengthening air defenses, and localized production of military equipment. They also discussed possible tougher sanctions against Russia and its supporters.
The same day, "Associated Press" and "Reuters" reported that the United States has resumed deliveries of military aid to Ukraine, including 155-mm artillery shells and guided missiles. Details of the quantities were not provided.
In support of Ukraine, the United Kingdom announced a new defense agreement, including more than 5,000 air defense interceptors and joint production of equipment with Thales Air Defense. It will also provide 283 million British pounds of aid in 2025-2026, including funds for governance reforms and environmental transition.
Germany also expressed its readiness to purchase Patriot systems for Ukraine from the United States. The Czech Republic will train up to eight Ukrainian F-16 fighter pilots by 2026.
On July 9-10, Russia carried out a massive missile and drone strike against Ukraine, mainly focused on Kiev and the surrounding areas. Nearly 400 drones and various types of missiles were used, from which Ukrainian forces shot down 178 shells. Strikes also affected other regions such as Chernihiv, Sumy, Poltava, Kirovohrad and Kharkiv, killing at least two civilians and wounding 26 people. Significant civilian infrastructure was damaged - residential, commercial, medical and transport.