Putin 'playing games' with US peace talks, Zelenskyy says amid drone attack
LONDON -- Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy again appealed to the U.S. to apply more pressure on Russian President Vladimir Putin in pursuit of peace talks to end Moscow's 3-year-old invasion of its neighbor -- and as massed long-range drone strikes continued.
"Russian strikes are becoming increasingly brazen and large-scale every night," Zelenskyy wrote in an evening message to Telegram, after consecutive days of intense Russian strikes involving more than 900 attack drones 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 to keep waging war and destroying lives," Zelenskyy wrote.
"New and strong sanctions against Russia -- from the United States, from Europe, and from all those around the world who seek peace -- will serve as a guaranteed means of forcing Russia not only to cease fire, but also to show respect," Zelenskyy said.
"Putin must start respecting those he talks to," the president wrote. "For now, he is simply playing games with diplomacy and diplomats. That must change."
The Ukrainian president is seeking to frame Putin as the key impediment 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 produce a lasting ceasefire or a clear framework for a peace deal.
Trump's building frustration has been evident. This weekend, Trump said Putin had gone "absolutely crazy," while also rebuking Zelenskyy for causing "problems" with his public statements.
On Tuesday, Trump said in a Truth Social post that "Putin doesn’t realize is that if it weren’t for me, lots of really bad things would have already happened to Russia, and I mean REALLY BAD."
"He’s playing with fire!" Trump added.
Earlier Tuesday, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov claimed Trump was revealing "certain emotions" as his efforts for peace were being sabotaged by European politicians "pushing Ukraine toward absolutely reckless actions like drone attacks on Moscow."
Kyiv is pushing for a 30-day ceasefire during which time peace talks can take place. Russia has so far refused the proposal.
Putin told Trump in a phone call last week that Moscow was preparing a memorandum setting out its negotiating position. But Kyiv and its European partners have accused the Kremlin of intentionally stalling discussions.
Russian Foreign Ministry spokesperson Maria Zakharova told reporters at a Tuesday briefing that Moscow is still developing its memorandum, which she said will be sent to Kyiv as soon as it is completed.
"We expect that the Ukrainian side is doing the same work and will send us its developments simultaneously with the receipt of the Russian document," Zakharova said.
Zelenskyy on Monday cast doubt on the Russian proposal. "They've already spent over a week on this," he wrote. "They talk a lot about diplomacy. But when, in the midst of all that, there are constant Russian strikes, constant killings, relentless assaults, and even preparations for new offensives."
Ukrainian leaders have repeatedly appealed to Trump to impose new, tougher sanctions on Moscow to push the Kremlin to downgrade its maximalist war goals. Those include the annexation of swaths of Ukrainian territory, Ukrainian demilitarization and a permanent block on the country's accession to NATO.
Ukrainian requests have so far gone unanswered, despite Trump's threats to introduce new sanctions to press Putin into negotiations.
Both Russia and Ukraine continued drone strikes on Monday night into Tuesday morning.
Ukraine's air force said it shot down 43 of 60 Russian drones launched into the country, with confirmed impacts in nine locations and falling debris in three locations.
Russia's Defense Ministry said its forces downed 99 Ukrainian drones over seven regions.
