Republican lawmakers have been overwhelmingly complimentary of President Donald Trump meeting with Vladimir Putin and attempting to put the Russian leader in a room with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky.

President Vladimir Putin said on Friday that there was "light at the end of the tunnel" in Russia-U.S. relations and that the two countries were discussing joint projects in the Arctic and Alaska.

As Trump pushes for peace, Ukraine accuses Russia of a deadly drone and missile strike, "as if there were no efforts by the world to stop this war."

Despite Trump's positivity, the meeting is far from guaranteed. Putin has repeatedly refused to meet with Zelenskyy during the conflict, having consistently sought to undermine the Ukrainian president's legitimacy. Russian officials rarely use Zelenskyy's name, preferring to refer to "the Kyiv regime."

Usha Vance called Melania Trump a "role model" Thursday for caring about children's welfare, referencing Mrs. Trump's letter to Vladimir Putin about protecting future generations.

Sergey Lavrov told NBC News’ “Meet the Press” moderator Kristen Welker in an exclusive interview Friday that the Ukrainian leader had rejected Trump's proposed terms for a deal.

Stephen Kotkin, the pre-eminent historian of Russia, on Moscow’s long record of overreach, Biden’s Ukraine failure, and prospects that Kyiv can ‘win the peace.’