U.S. President Donald Trump said Thursday that he would meet with Vladimir Putin even if the Russian leader will not meet with Ukrainian counterpart Volodymyr Zelensky, in comments that suggested Washington and Moscow could soon hold a summit.

Trump's comments followed a statement from Putin earlier in the day that he hoped to meet with Trump next week, possibly in the United Arab Emirates. But the White House was still working through the details of any potential meetings, press secretary Karoline Leavitt said.

Japanese warships docked in New Zealand 's capital Friday for the first time in almost 90 years amid efforts by Tokyo to deepen its strategic ties in the South Pacific Ocean.

Two destroyers with more than 500 crew on board sailed into Wellington harbor accompanied by the New Zealand navy ship HMNZS Canterbury. The JS Ise and destroyer JS Suzunami were on an Indo-Pacific deployment and arrived from Sydney, where Japan's military took part this month in war games involving New Zealand, Australia and other countries.

Ukrainian soldiers on the battlefield expressed little hope for a diplomatic solution to the war with Russia, as U.S. President Donald Trump's Friday deadline for the Kremlin to stop the killing arrived and he eyed a possible summit meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin to discuss the conflict.

Trump's efforts to pressure Putin have so far delivered no progress. Russia's bigger army is slowly advancing deeper into Ukraine at great cost in troops and armor while it relentlessly bombards Ukrainian cities. Russia and Ukraine are far apart on their terms for peace.

A meeting between Russian President Vladimir Putin and U.S. President Donald Trump has been agreed, a Kremlin official said Thursday, and it could possibly take place next week at a venue that has been decided "in principle."

"At the suggestion of the American side, it has been agreed in principle to hold a bilateral meeting at the highest level in the coming days, Putin's foreign affairs adviser Yuri Ushakov told reporters.

Russia has declared that it no longer considers itself bound by a self-imposed moratorium on the deployment of nuclear-capable intermediate range missiles, a warning that potentially sets the stage for a new arms race as tensions between Moscow and Washington rise again over Ukraine.

In a statement Monday, the Russian Foreign Ministry linked the decision to efforts by the U.S. and its allies to develop intermediate range weapons and preparations for their deployment in Europe and other parts of the world. It specifically cited U.S. plans to deploy Typhoon and Dark Eagle missiles in Germany starting next year.

Russian President Vladimir Putin met with U.S. special envoy Steve Witkoff at the Kremlin on Wednesday, just ahead of a U.S. deadline for ending the Ukraine conflict, state media reported.

"Russian President Vladimir Putin received U.S. Special Envoy Steven Witkoff," state-run agency TASS reported, citing the Kremlin.

Hiroshima on Wednesday marked the 80th anniversary of the U.S. atomic bombing of the western Japanese city, with many aging survivors expressing frustration about the growing support of global leaders for nuclear weapons as a deterrence.

With the number of survivors rapidly declining and their average age now exceeding 86, the anniversary is considered the last milestone event for many of them.

NATO started coordinating regular deliveries of large weapons packages to Ukraine after the Netherlands said it would provide air defense equipment, ammunition and other military aid worth 500 million euros ($578 million), most bought from the U.S.

Two deliveries are expected this month. The equipment that will be provided is based on Ukraine's priority needs on the battlefield. NATO allies then locate the weapons and ammunition and send them on.

Iran has arrested three members of a suspected sabotage cell linked to the exiled opposition for attempting to disrupt public order, Iranian media reported Tuesday.

Donald Trump has confirmed his special envoy Steve Witkoff will visit Russia in the coming week, ahead of a deadline the U.S. president has set for imposing fresh sanctions on Moscow.

Speaking to reporters, Trump also said that two nuclear submarines he deployed following an online row with former Russian president Dmitry Medvedev were now "in the region."