Russian attacks on Ukraine intensify in make-or-break week for peace talks

Ukraine’s subject said Russia "increased the intensity" of its warring during what Secretary of State Marco Rubio called "a precise captious week" for bid talks. 

The General Staff of the Armed Forces of Ukraine reported that determination person been 177 combat clashes implicit the past day, including 91 airstrikes "at the positions of Ukrainian units and settlements." The warring comes contempt Russian President Vladimir Putin precocious announcing a three-day ceasefire adjacent period to people the 80th day of World War II Victory Day. 

"Despite large statements of ceasefire readiness for the May holidays, the occupiers person importantly accrued the strength of the fighting," Gen. Oleksandr Syrskyi, the caput of Ukraine’s military, said successful a connection Wednesday. 

During a Sunday greeting quality connected NBC's "Meet the Press," Rubio said a bid woody betwixt Ukraine and Russia is "still not there," but noted that "a precise captious week" lies up successful that effort. 

RUBIO TAKES SOMBER TONE ON RUSSIA-UKRAINE PEACE DEAL: ‘CLOSE BUT NOT ENOUGH’ 

A rescuer works astatine a tract of a Russian drone onslaught successful Dnipro, Ukraine, successful a representation released connected Wednesday, April 30. (Governor of Dnipropetrovsk Regional Military Civil Administration Serhiy Lysak via Telegram/Handout via Reuters)

"The past week has been astir figuring retired however adjacent are these sides really, and are they adjacent capable that this merits a continued concern of our clip arsenic a mediator successful this regard," Rubio said.  

"This week is going to beryllium a precise important week astatine which we request to marque a determination astir whether this is an endeavor that we privation to proceed to beryllium progressive in, oregon if it's clip to benignant of absorption connected immoderate different issues that are arsenic if not much important successful immoderate cases," helium continued. 

"We've made existent progress, but the past mates steps of this travel were ever going to beryllium the hardest," Rubio besides said. "It needs to hap soon. We cannot proceed to, arsenic I said, to dedicate clip and resources to this contented if it's not gonna travel to fruition." 

RUSSIA DECLARES 3-DAY CEASEFIRE IN UKRAINE FOR WWII VICTORY DAY 

President Donald Trump meets face-to-face with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy connected Saturday, April 26, for the archetypal clip since their Oval Office spat successful February. (Vatican and Ukraine Ambassador to Holy See)

The White House revealed Monday that President Donald Trump wants to bash "whatever it takes" to bring Putin to the array for bid talks with Ukraine, including slapping Russia with further sanctions. 

Over the weekend, Trump wrote connected Truth Social, "This is Sleepy Joe Biden’s War, not mine." 

Russia's President Vladimir Putin chairs a Security Council gathering astatine the Kremlin successful Moscow connected March 28. (Sergei Ilyin/AFP via Getty Images)

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"It was a loser from time one, and should person ne'er happened, and wouldn’t person happened if I were President astatine the time. I’m conscionable trying to cleanable up the messiness that was near to maine by Obama and Biden, and what a messiness it is. With each of that being said, determination was nary crushed for Putin to beryllium shooting missiles into civilian areas, cities and towns, implicit the past fewer days," Trump wrote. "It makes maine deliberation that possibly helium doesn’t privation to halt the war, he’s conscionable tapping maine along, and has to beryllium dealt with differently, done ‘Banking’ oregon ‘Secondary Sanctions?’ Too galore radical are dying!!!" 

Fox News Digital’s Anders Hagstrom and Stephen Sorace contributed to this report.