Moscow, Russia - Russia's foreign minister said Thursday that Moscow was ready to do a deal on its war in Ukraine after Donald Trump urged Vladimir Putin to halt attacks following the deadliest strikes on Kyiv in months.

"We are ready to reach a deal, but there are still some specific points... which need to be fine-tuned, and we are busy with this," Sergei Lavrov said in an interview with CBS News.

Donald Trump's envoy Steve Witkoff is due in Russia on Friday where he is expected to hold another round of ceasefire talks with Putin.

Lavrov said the talks process was moving in the right direction, and negotiations would continue with Washington.

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He said the US president was "probably the only leader on Earth who recognized the need to address the root causes of this situation", but said Trump "did not spell out the elements of the deal".

Trump, however, issued a direct appeal to Russian President Putin following missile and drone strikes on the Ukrainian capital early Thursday which left at least 12 people dead.

It was the latest in a wave of Russian aerial attacks that have killed dozens of civilians, defying Trump's push to bring about a rapid end to the bloodshed.

"I am not happy with the Russian strikes," Trump said on social media. "Not necessary, and very bad timing. Vladimir, STOP!"

Trump, who is accused of favoring Russia and has often vilified Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, was asked by reporters what concessions Moscow had offered in negotiations to end the war.

"Stopping taking the whole country – pretty big concession," he replied.

Zelensky cut short a trip to South Africa to deal with the aftermath of the latest strikes.

He questioned whether Kyiv's allies were doing enough to force Putin to agree to a full and unconditional ceasefire.

"I don't see any strong pressure on Russia or any new sanctions packages against Russia's aggression," Zelensky said, highlighting that Trump had previously warned of repercussions if Moscow did not agree to pause the fighting.

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Trump on Wednesday had accused Zelensky of frustrating peace efforts by ruling out recognizing Russia's claim over Crimea, a territory the US president said was "lost years ago." Moscow annexed the peninsula in 2014.

"We do everything that our partners have proposed. Only what contradicts our legislation and the Constitution we cannot do," Zelensky said in response to a question about Crimea. -

Russia fired at least 70 missiles and 145 drones at Ukraine between late Wednesday and early Thursday, the main target being Kyiv, the Ukrainian air force said.

Asked about the strikes, Lavrov told CBS News: "We only target military goals or civilian sites used by the military."

"If this was a target used by the Ukrainian military, the Ministry of Defense, the commanders in the field have the right to attack them."