Russian President Vladimir Putin on Saturday accused Ukraine of dragging its feet on peace efforts and warned that Moscow would pursue its objectives by military force if Kyiv continued to reject negotiations.
“If the Kyiv authorities do not want to resolve the matter peacefully, we will accomplish all the tasks before us in the course of the special military operation by military means,” Putin said, according to Russia’s state-run TASS news agency. He added that Ukrainian leaders were “in no hurry” to bring the conflict to a peaceful conclusion, reiterating a position he said he had articulated a year earlier at Russia’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
Putin’s remarks came amid intensified Russian strikes across Ukraine, even as Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy was en route to Florida for a scheduled meeting with US President Donald Trump on Sunday.
Zelenskyy said the latest wave of attacks underscored Moscow’s lack of interest in ending the war, which began with Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in February 2022. “This attack is again Russia’s answer to our peace efforts. It clearly shows that Putin does not want peace, while we do,” Zelenskyy said ahead of a meeting with Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney.
Ukraine’s military, in its regular battlefield update on Saturday, said its forces had successfully repelled Russian attempts to advance near Myrnohrad and Huliaipole.
Trump–Zelenskyy Meeting
Sunday’s talks in Florida are expected to centre on a new 20-point proposal aimed at freezing the conflict along current front lines. The plan could involve Ukraine pulling back troops from parts of the east and the establishment of demilitarised buffer zones, according to details disclosed by Zelenskyy earlier this week.
In the lead-up to the meeting, Zelenskyy consulted several key allies, including European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen, Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney and other European leaders. German Chancellor Friedrich Merz said the Ukrainian leader received their “full support”.
However, President Trump has signalled caution, making clear that he is under no pressure to endorse the proposal. “He doesn’t have anything until I approve it. So we’ll see what he’s got,” Trump told Politico on Friday.
Meanwhile, Russia’s Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Ryabkov accused Zelenskyy of attempting to “torpedo” the US-brokered initiative, insisting that any agreement must “remain within the limits” set by Trump and Putin.
Overnight Attacks
Ukrainian authorities said Russia launched an overnight barrage of drones and missiles targeting Kyiv for nearly 10 hours. The strikes killed two people, injured dozens and disrupted power and heating supplies to more than one million residents amid freezing temperatures.
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