Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has voiced his frustration over how the conflict in Iran has caused a delay in his country’s peace negotiations. He also criticized President Trump for not exerting enough pressure on Russian leader Vladimir Putin to end the ongoing four-year conflict.
A key meeting involving the US, Ukraine, and Russia, originally set for next week, has been postponed. According to Zelensky, the White House requested this delay.
The postponement was reportedly due to the US’s insistence on holding discussions on American soil because of the Iranian conflict, while the Kremlin declined to travel to the US.
This stance from Moscow was notable, given that Russian representative Kirill Dmitriev had traveled to Florida on Wednesday to meet with US envoy Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner, President Trump’s son-in-law, according to Zelensky.
Feeling frustrated by the stalled peace talks, Zelensky likened the situation to a “soap opera” in comments to Ukrainian media this week.
In an exclusive interview with Politico Europe from Kyiv’s presidential palace, Zelensky expressed that Ukrainians are growing weary and urged President Trump to increase his pressure on Putin, rather than on him.
“I trust that Americans really want to finish with this war. I hope that they will help us, but we need more pressure on Russia, not on me,” he said.
Ukraine still hasn’t received a clear answer on what US-backed security guarantees for Ukraine would look like after an end to the fighting., he told the outlet.
Meanwhile, a Russian barrage killed at least eight civilians and wounded 46 more across Ukraine overnight.
Putin’s troops fired 430 drones and 68 missiles, Ukraine’s Air Force said.
“The main target for the Russians was the energy infrastructure of the Kyiv region, but unfortunately, there were also direct hits on and damage to ordinary residential buildings, schools, and civilian businesses,” Zelensky wrote on X Saturday.
“Russia will try to exploit the war in the Middle East to cause even greater destruction here in Europe, in Ukraine.”
The last round of trilateral talks between Ukraine, Russia and the US was back on Feb. 16 in Geneva.
