London – President Voludmir Zelinski again appealed to the United States to receive more pressure on Russian President Vladimir Putin in the pursuit of peace talks to end the 3-year-old Moscow invasion of its neighbor-and with long-range drone strikes.
“The Russian strikes have become increasingly increasingly and largely rude every night,” Zelinski wrote in an evening letter to Telegram, after a consecutive days of severe Russian strikes that involve more than 900 unmanned attacks and missiles.
“There is no military logic in this, but it is a clear political choice – the choice of Putin, the choice of Russia – the choice of preserving the war and destruction of lives,” Zelinski wrote.
“New and strong sanctions against Russia – from the United States, from Europe, and from all those who wander around the world who seek peace – will be a guaranteed way to force Russia not only to stop fire, but also to show respect,” Zellinski said.
Ukrainian soldiers are preparing for a combat mission near the city of Boucrovsk in the Donetsk region, Ukraine, on May 26, 2025.
Anatoly Stepanov/Reuters
“Putin should start respecting those who talk to them,” the president wrote. “At the present time, he simply plays games with diplomacy and diplomats. This must change.”
The Ukrainian President is seeking to framing Putin as the main obstacle to the peace agreement, as Kiev has a intermittent bilateral relationship with the administration of President Donald Trump.
Months of peace talks in which the United States mediated failed to produce a permanent ceasefire or a clear framework for a peace agreement.
Trump’s construction was clear. “Putin is completely crazy”, while Zelinski was also reprimanding to cause “problems” with his general statements.
KYIV pays a 30 -day shooting cease during the time when peace conversations can occur. Russia has so far rejected the proposal.
Putin Trump told a phone call last week that Moscow was preparing a note that determines its negotiating position. But Kyiv and its European partners accused the Kremlin of deliberate discussions.
Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova told reporters on Tuesday that Moscow is still developing a note, which it said would be sent to Kiev as soon as it was completed.
“We expect the Ukrainian side to do the same work and send us its developments simultaneously with the receipt of the Russian document,” Zakharova said.
In this photo that I took and released by the Ukrainian presidential press service on May 26, 2025, Ukraine President Voludmir Zelinski receives a phone call to his office in Kiev.
Bulletin/Ukrainian presidential printing press
Zelenskyy on Monday casts doubts on the Russian proposal. “They have already spent more than a week on this,” he wrote. “They talk a lot about diplomacy. But when, in the midst of all of this, there are continuous Russian strikes, continuous killings, uncompromising attacks, and even preparations for new calm.”
Ukrainian leaders have repeatedly appealed to Trump to impose new, tougher sanctions on Moscow to push the Kremlin to reduce the maximum goals of the war. These include the inclusion of the areas of Ukrainian lands, the clarification of the Ukrainian sequence and a permanent bloc on the country’s accession to NATO.
Ukrainian requests have not been answered yet, despite Trump’s threats to submit new penalties to pressure Putin in the negotiations.
Russia and Ukraine continued drone strikes on Monday evening to Tuesday morning.
The Ukraine Air Force said it had dropped 43 of 60 Russian planes launched in the country, with confirmed effects in nine locations and the debris in three locations.
The Russian Ministry of Defense said that its forces shot down 99 Ukrainian drones in seven areas.
