U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio said on Sunday that a peace deal between Russia and Ukraine needs to happen soon, adding that the Trump administration will spend the coming week trying to determine whether to continue as a mediator.

Officials say Ukraine and Russia have targeted each other with long-range strikes amid continuing uncertainty about whether an agreement to stop their more than three-year war is within reach

Russia said on Monday it was waiting for a signal from Ukraine regarding Kyiv's willingness to hold direct negotiations to end the war, but said it did not so far see any signs of movement. The Kremlin said last Friday that the possibility of direct talks between the two sides had been raised during a three-hour meeting between President Vladimir Putin and U.

Russia's ejection of Ukrainian troops from the Kursk region ends the biggest incursion into Russian territory since World War Two, removing another barrier to a peace deal Moscow was reluctant to conclude with so many enemy troops on its soil.

North Korea has for the first time confirmed that it sent troops to fight for Russia against Ukraine. In a report on state news agency KCNA, Pyongyang's military claimed its soldiers helped Russian forces "completely liberate" the Kursk border region, according to an order given by leader Kim Jong Un.

President Trump called on Russia and Ukraine to hold high-level negotiations to end the war, saying that talks toward a deal have gone well.

North Korea confirmed for the first time on Monday that it has sent troops to fight for Russia in the war with Ukraine under the order of leader Kim Jong-un and made an important contribution to the liberation of Russian territory occupied by Ukraine.