Blinken calls off meeting with Russian foreign minister scheduled on Feb. 24.

Russia continued its attacks on Kyiv for another consecutive night as air defenses in Ukraine's capital shot down Russian drones into Sept. 1, according to Kyiv Independent journalists on the ground.

The heaviest toll was reported in Kyiv and the surrounding oblast, where Russia’s fifth consecutive day of attacks killed at least 12 people and injured 21 others.

U.S. Army Secretary Dan Driscoll has played a role in Washington's efforts to end Russia's war against Ukraine and previously advocated for closer U.S.-Ukraine military cooperation.

"I told him directly in his face that the Russian government must end this war," German Vice-Chancellor Lars Klingbeil said.

The figure includes 1 440 casualties that Russian forces suffered over the past day.

"We need to move from endless war to an end to the war," Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi told Putin on the sidelines of the annual Shanghai Cooperation Organization summit.

A Ukrainian drone attack damaged the Russian Baltic Sea port of Ust-Luga in Leningrad Oblast early on Sept. 1, regional Governor Alexander Drozdenko said.

"Contrary to Russia, the European Union does not interfere in elections," European Commission spokesperson Anitta Hipper told the Kyiv Independent.

"Over these two years, our defense industry has become a strategic sector within the country and has begun to integrate into the defense industrial architecture of Europe and the United States. I thank the President for the trust and the opportunity to be of service," former adviser Oleksandr Kamyshin said.

The two U.S. envoys have yet to visit Kyiv, despite leading Trump's efforts to broker an end to the Russia-Ukraine war and repeatedly traveling to Moscow to meet Russian President Vladimir Putin and other senior Russian officials.

Ukraine's military intelligence agency (HUR) published new details about the Russian 3M22 Zircon hypersonic missile on Aug. 31, revealing that its actual capabilities fell short of those claimed by the Kremlin.

Many in Kyiv’s business community think that the starting price is too high for the market, particularly as Russia has escalated attacks on Ukrainian businesses, including shopping centers, in recent months.

The explosion occurred around 3:30 p.m. local time in the building’s inner courtyard while a bomb disposal team was on the scene, the National Police said.