Donald Trump will speak by phone Monday with Russia's Vladimir Putin as part of the US leader's effort to end the grinding war set off by Moscow's 2022 invasion of Ukraine.

Trump had vowed during his US election campaign to halt the conflict within a day of taking office, but his diplomatic efforts have so far yielded little progress.

Despite Ukraine saying Russia launched a "record" drone attack at the weekend, Moscow said Monday it would prefer to end the conflict through diplomacy and described the upcoming call as "important".

"It is preferable to achieve our goals through political and diplomatic means, of course," Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told state media, adding that Russia "highly valued" Washington's attempts to end the fighting.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky refreshed his push for a "full and unconditional ceasefire" ahead of the call.

Delegations from Russia and Ukraine held direct negotiations in Istanbul last week for the first time in three years, but the talks ended without a commitment to a ceasefire.

Both sides traded insults, with Ukraine........

© International Business Times