Russian government says it is willing to improve ties - but onus is on Trump to make first move

Russia is willing to work with President-elect Trump to help improve relations with Ukraine so long as the U.S. makes the first move, Kremlin officials said this week, adding fresh momentum for the possibility of peace talks as its war in Ukraine threatens to stretch into a third year. 

Speaking to reporters Thursday in Moscow, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov reiterated that Russia could be ready to come to the negotiating table regarding its "special military operation" in Ukraine - echoing the phrasing used by the Kremlin to describe its war in Ukraine - so long as the U.S. acted first. 

"If the signals that are coming from the new team in Washington to restore the dialogue that Washington interrupted after the start of a special military operation [the war in Ukraine] are serious, of course, we will respond to them," Lavrov said in Moscow.

"I think both sides are ready," Kellogg said in the interview. "After a thousand days of war, with 350,000, 400,000 Russian [soldiers] down, and 150,000 Ukrainian dead, or numbers like that - both sides are saying, 'okay, maybe this is the time, and we need to step back.'"

To date, Russia has lost tens of thousands of soldiers in the war. As of this fall, an average of 1,200 soldiers were killed or injured per day, according to U.S. estimates. 

In Ukraine, the country's energy infrastructure has seen extreme damage as the result of a protracted Russian bombing campaign, designed to collapse portions of the power grid, plunge the country into darkness, and ultimately, wear down the resolve of the Ukrainian people.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said the Christmas Day timing was a "deliberate" choice by Putin. "What could be more inhuman?" he said in a statement. 

Meanwhile, Ukraine's military has lost around 40% of the land it seized in Russia's Kursk region - a loss that could further erode morale. 

Lavrov's remarks also come as Kellogg prepares to travel to Ukraine in January for what he described to Fox News as an information-gathering trip. 

He declined to elaborate further on what he will aim to accomplish during the visit, saying only that he believes both countries are ready to end the protracted war - and that incoming President Trump could serve as the "referee."

"Think of a cage fight. You've got two fighters, and both want to tap out. You need a referee to kind of separate them."

Meanwhile, Russian President Vladimir Putin said Thursday that he is open to having the peace talks in the third country of Slovakia, citing an offer made by the country's prime minister during a visit to the Kremlin earlier this week. 

It is unclear whether Ukraine would be willing to have the talks held in Slovakia, a country whose leaders have been vehemently opposed to sending more EU military aid to Ukraine. 

Ukraine did not immediately respond to Fox News's request for comment on the peace talks, or whether it would be open to Slovakia's offer to host.