Zelensky meets Vance as Russian drones pound Ukraine

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky discussed the upcoming telephone call between US President Donald Trump and Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin during a brief meeting with US Vice President JD Vance in Rome on Sunday, a senior Ukrainian official told AFP.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky met with US Vice President JD Vance on Sunday, for the first time since the disastrous shouting match in the White House in February, as Russia launched a "record" drone barrage on Kyiv, after talks with Moscow which did not yield a ceasefire.

"We discussed the talks in Istanbul, where the Russians sent a low-level delegation with no decision-making powers," Zelensky wrote on Telegram following the meeting with Vance.

That took place at the US ambassador's residence in Rome -- the Villa Taverna -- after the two of them attended Pope Leo's inaugural mass in the Vatican.

"We also touched on the need for sanctions against Russia, bilateral trade, defense cooperation, the situation on the battlefield and the future exchange of prisoners," Zelensky added.

US Secretary of State Marco Rubio and Zelensky's aide Andriy Yermak were also present at the meeting, where the two sides discussed steps towards a just and lasting peace in Ukraine.

A senior Ukrainian official from the president's office, who spoke on condition of anonymity, told AFP that Zelensky and Vance also discussed preparations for Monday's telephone conversation between US President Donald Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin.

Kyiv and the West say that Russia's invasion is nothing more than an imperial-style land grab.