Donald Trump escalated tensions with Russia by ordering two U.S. nuclear submarines to reposition themselves near Russian waters.

Trump orders nuclear submarines deployed after Medvedev's threats * Zelensky urges direct leader-level peace talks as Putin blames 'excessive expectations' * As death toll reaches 31, Russia's attack on Kyiv becomes most deadly on capital this year * 20,

Kyiv and Moscow have held three rounds of talks in Istanbul this year that yielded exchanges of prisoners and bodies.