Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov "diverted" U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken's calls to reconsider the decision to suspend Russia's participation in the New START treaty, Russia's foreign ministry told Interfax, Russian news agency.

“If they want to return to diplomacy, let them return. If they are engaged in self-promotion and such inexpensive PR, well, this is possible. True, the result will be appropriate," Maria Zakharova, a spokesperson for the ministry, told Russian TV channel Rossiya-1.

-ABC News' Natalia Shumskaia

U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken and Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov had an "on the go" talk during the G-20 Meeting of Foreign Ministers in India, but there were no negotiations, Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova told TASS, a Russian news agency, Thursday.

"Blinken asked for a contact with Lavrov. Sergey Viktorovich [Lavrov] had communication on the go during the second session. But there were no negotiations, no meeting or so on," the diplomat said.

Blinken had said earlier in the day during a press conference he had "spoke briefly" with Lavrov and discussed ending the war, as well as Russia rejoining the New START Treaty on nuclear arms.

"I told the foreign minister what I and so many others said last week at the United Nations and what so many G-20 foreign ministers said today: End this war of aggression, engage in meaningful diplomacy that could produce a just and durable peace," he said. "The United States stands ready to support Ukraine through diplomacy to end the war on this basis."

A senior State Department official downplayed any hopes that the conversation moved the needle on any of the topics.

-ABC News' Tanya Stukalova and Shannon Crawford

Ukraine has shot down 80% of Russian missiles, according to Commander of the Joint Forces of the Ukrainian Air Force Serhiy Nayev.

Nayev made the assessment in a Facebook post on Wednesday about the effectiveness of the air defense system.

"The enemy is also changing his tactics and ways of using air strike means, so we test after every hit," he wrote. "This analysis proves that commanders, respectively, make decisions that ensure the durability of the air defense is at the highest level."

-ABC News' Ellie Kaufman

Colonel-General Oleksandr Syrsky, the commander of Ukraine's Eastern Group of Forces, will send additional units to Bahkmut, according to Ukraine's Deputy Defense Minister Hanna Malyar.

"Bakhmut has been the epicenter of hostilities for several months now. The enemy has concentrated its key efforts there because it aims to reach the borders of the Donetsk region. The situation there is really tense and difficult," Malyar said.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy echoed that statement in his nightly address.

"The most difficult situation is still Bakhmut and the battles that are important for the defense of the city," he said.

-ABC News' Ellie Kaufman and Will Gretsky

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy spoke with Chinese President Xi Jinping in what was the two leaders' first official contact since January 2022, before Russia's invasion of Ukraine.

Xi announced that he will send a special envoy to visit Ukraine and "other countries" to work on a political solution.

"I believe that this call, as well as the appointment of Ukraine's ambassador to China, will give a powerful impetus to the development of our bilateral relations," Zelenskyy said in a statement on Twitter.

The Chinese government's official position still refuses to call the war an "invasion."

The call between the two leaders is said to have lasted an hour, according to Zelenskyy's office.

"Before the full-scale Russian invasion, China was Ukraine's number one trading partner. I believe that our conversation today will give a powerful impetus to the return, preservation and development of this dynamic at all levels," Zelenskyy said in a statement.

-ABC News' Karson Yiu, Cindy Smith and Will Gretsky