LONDON — President Volodymyr Zelenskyy once more appealed to the U.S. to use extra stress on Russian President Vladimir Putin in pursuit of peace talks to finish Moscow’s 3-year-old invasion of its neighbor — and as massed long-range drone strikes continued.
“Russian strikes have gotten more and more brazen and large-scale each night time,” Zelenskyy wrote in a night message to Telegram, after consecutive days of intense Russian strikes involving greater than 900 assault drones and missiles.
“There isn’t a army logic on this, however it’s a clear political alternative — the selection of Putin, the selection of Russia — the selection to maintain waging conflict and destroying lives,” Zelenskyy wrote.
“New and robust sanctions in opposition to Russia — from america, from Europe, and from all these around the globe who search peace — will function a assured technique of forcing Russia not solely to stop hearth, but additionally to indicate respect,” Zelenskyy stated.
Ukrainian servicemen put together for a fight mission close to the city of Pokrovsk in Donetsk area, Ukraine, on Might 26, 2025.
Anatolii Stepanov/Reuters
“Putin should begin respecting these he talks to,” the president wrote. “For now, he’s merely taking part in video games with diplomacy and diplomats. That should change.”
The Ukrainian president is searching for to border Putin as the important thing obstacle to a peace deal, as Kyiv navigates a fractious bilateral relationship with President Donald Trump’s administration.
Months of U.S.-brokered peace talks have failed to provide a long-lasting ceasefire or a transparent framework for a peace deal.
Trump’s constructing frustration has been evident. This weekend, Trump stated Putin had gone “completely loopy,” whereas additionally rebuking Zelenskyy for inflicting “issues” along with his public statements.
Kyiv is pushing for a 30-day ceasefire throughout which era peace talks can happen. Russia has to this point refused the proposal.
Putin advised Trump in a cellphone name final week that Moscow was making ready a memorandum setting out its negotiating place. However Kyiv and its European companions have accused the Kremlin of deliberately stalling discussions.
Russian International Ministry spokesperson Maria Zakharova advised reporters at a Tuesday briefing that Moscow remains to be creating its memorandum, which she stated might be despatched to Kyiv as quickly as it’s accomplished.
“We count on that the Ukrainian aspect is doing the identical work and can ship us its developments concurrently with the receipt of the Russian doc,” Zakharova stated.
Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelenskyy takes a cellphone name in his workplace in Kyiv, Might 26, 2025.
Ukrainian Presidential Press Service/AFP through Getty Pictures
Zelenskyy on Monday forged doubt on the Russian proposal. “They’ve already spent over per week on this,” he wrote. “They speak rather a lot about diplomacy. However when, within the midst of all that, there are fixed Russian strikes, fixed killings, relentless assaults, and even preparations for brand spanking new offensives.”
Ukrainian leaders have repeatedly appealed to Trump to impose new, more durable sanctions on Moscow to push the Kremlin to downgrade its maximalist conflict targets. These embrace the annexation of swaths of Ukrainian territory, Ukrainian demilitarization and a everlasting block on the nation’s accession to NATO.
Ukrainian requests have to this point gone unanswered, regardless of Trump’s threats to introduce new sanctions to press Putin into negotiations.
Each Russia and Ukraine continued drone strikes on Monday night time into Tuesday morning.
Ukraine’s air pressure stated it shot down 43 of 60 Russian drones launched into the nation, with confirmed impacts in 9 areas and falling particles in three areas.
Russia’s Protection Ministry stated its forces downed 99 Ukrainian drones over seven areas.
