Russia to maintain contact with US over Ukraine issue: Kremlin

Russia continues to maintain contact with the United States and hopes Washington will play a role in resolving the Ukraine issue, Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov said on Wednesday.

"We welcome the continued efforts by the American side to create the necessary conditions for reaching a settlement on the Ukraine issue," Peskov said at a daily press briefing.

Peskov further said that each round of contact may represent a step toward finding a solution, which he emphasized must take full account of Russia's interests.

He reiterated Russia's hope that the United States will keep playing a role in resolving the Ukraine issue and that Russia stays open to negotiations on the matter.

Since the start of this year, Russia, the United States and Ukraine have held three rounds of trilateral talks on the Ukraine issue, with the most recent round held in Geneva, Switzerland, from February 17-18.

Meanwhile, the Russian Ministry of Defense said on the same day that Russian air defense systems have destroyed 543 drones employed by the Ukrainian armed forces on the front line in the past day.

Ukrainian drones struck an energy facility and a vessel in Russia's Leningrad region overnight, Ukraine's military said Wednesday.