Russia and Ukraine have exchanged rare positive signals over the possibility of renewed peace negotiations while the United States announced additional military deployments and expedited arms deliveries to Kyiv.

Speaking to journalists on Friday, a week before a new deadline imposed by U.S. President Donald Trump for hostilities to cease, Russian President Vladimir Putin said Moscow remained open to negotiations with Ukraine and would "wait" if Kyiv believed "now is not the time." He reiterated that the terms for ceasefire he laid out in June, 2024, including Ukrainian withdrawal from four contested regions and a pledge not to join NATO, remained on the table.

Putin also said talks in Istanbul last week were "positive, in general." He added, "as for any disappointments from anyone, all disappointments arise from excessive expectations."  

Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov on Friday announced that Moscow had proposed establishing working groups on both political and military matters and was awaiting a response from Ukraine.

In Kyiv, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy responded with cautious optimism. Posting on social media, he said "Ukraine is ready to work as swiftly as possible for the sake of peace" and reiterated his call for direct talks between him and Russian leadership.

Trump announced the deployment of two U.S. nuclear submarines "in response" to recent comments from former Russian President Dmitry Medvedev. "Based on the highly provocative statements of the former president of Russia, Dmitry Medvedev, who is now the deputy chairman of the Security Council of the Russian Federation, I have ordered two nuclear submarines to be positioned in the appropriate regions," Trump wrote in Friday's post on Truth Social.

Medvedev on Thursday told U.S. President Donald Trump to remember that Moscow possessed Soviet-era nuclear strike capabilities of last resort. Medvedev also said that Trump's threat of hitting Russia and buyers of its oil with punitive tariffs was "a game of ultimatums" and a step closer towards a war between Russia and the United States.

At a UN Security Council meeting on Thursday, U.S. officials confirmed Trump's August 8 deadline for reaching a peace agreement between Russia and Ukraine. The U.S. has not elaborated on what action might follow if that deadline is missed.

Meanwhile, Reuters reported that the U.S. and NATO are working on a novel approach to supply Ukraine with weapons using funds from NATO countries to pay for the purchase or transfer of U.S. arms.

The move marks a sharp contrast with earlier U.S. rhetoric about brokering peace. Since taking office in January, Trump has repeatedly shifted his position – from promising to end the war within 24 hours, to proposing a six-month peace roadmap, to setting deadlines for temporary ceasefires.