The Kremlin said on Thursday that Russia was preparing for contacts with the United States to get details about U.S. talks with European powers and Ukraine on a possible peace settlement to end the Ukraine conflict.

Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Sergey Ryabkov told ABC News during an exclusive interview in Moscow on Monday that he believes the warring parties are close to a deal.

Russian President Vladimir Putin declares Russia's Ukraine war goals will be achieved through negotiations or military force as diplomatic efforts.

Russia faces long-term financial repercussions from its Ukraine invasion, with military spending surging and debt costs outpacing the budget.

Putin said at an annual meeting with top military officers that Moscow will move to expand a “buffer security zone” along the border.

Russia will be paying for its invasion of Ukraine for years to come even if the fighting ended tomorrow, as the government plugs a widening gap in the military budget with increasingly costly borrowing.

Around 180,000 consumers were left without electricity supplies across five Ukrainian regions after a Russian attack overnight, Ukraine's acting energy minister Artem Nekrasov said on Thursday.

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