U.S. officials and lawmakers are increasingly concerned about a meeting last month in which representatives of the Trump administration met with Kirill Dmitriev, a Russian envoy who is under U.S. sanctions,

U.S. sanctions on Russia’s largest oil producers, Lukoil and Rosneft, have kicked in and are starting to test Moscow’s ability to sell crude, its economic lifeblood.

The White House wants Kyiv to sign off on a “framework” to end the war in Ukraine based upon the U.S.-crafted 28-point peace plan by Thursday, according to three U.S. officials.

The U.S. and Russia have reportedly drafted a peace plan to end the war in Ukraine, demanding major concessions from President Zelenskyy.

President Donald Trump is willing to sign legislation to impose sanctions on Russia as long as he retains ultimate decision-making authority over any such measures, a senior White House official said on Monday.

US President Donald Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin have spent weeks trading threats to restart nuclear tests, an escalation kicked off by Putin’s boasts about tests of the Poseidon nuclear powered missile in late October.