Secretary of State Marco Rubio doubled down on President Trump’s demand for peace talks between Ukraine and Russia after the war escalated over a weekend with a series of intense bombings inside both countries. Rubio told Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov on Sunday that both sides needed to engage in direct talks “to achieve a lasting peace,” according to the State Department. The message came after Ukraine’s forces wiped out and damaged 41 of the Kremlin’s nuclear bombers and aircraft, attacking at least four air bases across Russia in a massive operation.