Ukraine has proposed a fresh round of negotiations with Russia, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has said.
Why It Matters
Ceasefire talks pushed by the U.S have failed to yield progress toward an agreement after Russia refused to ink an American proposal that Ukraine agreed to back in March. Ukrainian and Russian officials have met directly for talks twice in recent months.
U.S. President Donald Trump has grown increasingly irritated with Russian President Vladimir Putin, pivoting from chasing a thaw with the Kremlin to overtly criticize the Russian leader.
In a marked departure from the White House’s tough stance on Ukraine, Trump upped military support for Kyiv via NATO nations and said earlier this month Russia had 50 days to clinch a ceasefire deal or face tariffs. Moscow said Ukraine saw this as a “signal to continue the war” and abandon peace talks. Western leaders and Ukraine have repeatedly said Russia is stalling ceasefire negotiations.
What To Know
The chief of Ukraine’s National Security and Defense Council (NSDC), Rustem Umerov, has “proposed a new meeting with Russia next week,” which would focus on ceasefire negotiations, prisoner exchanges and the return of Ukrainian children to the country, Zelensky said late on Saturday. Newsweek has reached out to the Russian Defense Ministry for comment via email.
Umerov, previously serving as Ukraine’s defense minister, was appointed as the country’s NSDC chief on Friday.
AP Photo/Vadym Sarakhan
The Ukrainian president said he needed to meet with Putin “to truly ensure a lasting peace.”
“Ukraine is ready,” he added. Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov said last week Russia was waiting for Ukrainian proposals for a third round of talks.
Moscow has so far refused to set up a direct meeting between the Kremlin chief and Zelensky, despite repeated calls for a face-to-face conversation between the two leaders.
Russia has intensified its missile and drone strikes on Ukraine in recent weeks. The United Nations‘ Human Rights Monitoring Mission in Ukraine said earlier this month that June marked the highest number of civilian casualties in three years, when 232 people were killed and 1,343 injured.
Ukraine said on Sunday Russia had launched 57 drones at several regions of the war-torn country overnight, after reporting Moscow fired 344 drones at Ukraine into Saturday morning. Russia also used 12 short-range ballistic missiles and 15 cruise missiles from late on Friday into the early hours of Saturday, the Ukrainian air force said.
Trump told the BBC earlier in July he was “disappointed” in the Russian leader, but “not done with him.”
“We’ll have a great conversation. I’ll say: ‘That’s good, I’ll think we’re close to getting it done,’ and then he’ll knock down a building in Kyiv,” Trump said.
What People Are Saying
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said on Saturday that Russia “must stop hiding from decisions.”