Ukraine said Russia’s daily missile and drone strikes on civilian targets showed the Kremlin did not want to end its devastating invasion, as Germany’s likely next chancellor said an extraordinary row between the US and Ukrainian leaders in front of reporters in Washington last week appeared to be orchestrated by the White House.
Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelenskiy said on Monday that his country wanted to achieve “real peace” and “guarantee security” with the help of the US and European powers, as US president Donald Trump and the Kremlin again accused him of not being prepared to end Europe’s biggest war in 80 years.
“We need real peace and Ukrainians want it most because the war ruins our cities and towns. We lose our people. We need to stop the war and to guarantee security,” Mr Zelenskiy said. “We are working together with America and our European partners and very much hope on US support on the path to peace. Peace is needed as soon as possible.”
Earlier, Mr Zelenskiy denounced the latest deadly Russian air strikes on his country, saying that “over the past week, more than 1,050 attack drones, nearly 1,300 aerial bombs, and more than 20 missiles have been launched at Ukraine to destroy cities and kill people”.
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“Those who seek negotiations do not deliberately strike civilians with ballistic missiles. To force Russia to stop its attacks, we need greater collective strength from the world,” he added. “Justice must prevail. We believe in the power of unity, and we will certainly restore lasting peace.”
Russia says peace talks are only possible if Ukraine accepts the permanent occupation of five regions and abandons its hopes of joining Nato, which Kyiv regards as terms amounting to capitulation.
Ukraine has been stunned by the sea-change in the US position on the war since Mr Trump returned to power in January, with a pledge to end the fighting as soon as possible and to seek a rapprochement with Moscow.
The US says that a peace deal will not include the return of all occupied territory, Nato membership for Ukraine or the deployment of US peacekeepers – terms that meet core Russian priorities while demanding nothing of the Kremlin.
The White House now also accuses Mr Zelenskiy of being an obstacle to peace – because he says explicit US security guarantees are vital to stop Russia relaunching its invasion in the future – and the claim is loudly echoed by the Kremlin, which says US foreign policy now “largely aligns” with its own view of world affairs.
“The Kyiv regime and Zelenskiy do not want peace. They want the war to continue. So in this situation, of course, Washington’s efforts and Moscow’s readiness alone will clearly not be enough – a very important element is missing,” said Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov.
“It is very important that someone forces Zelenskiy himself to change his position. Someone has to make Zelenskiy want peace. If the Europeans can do it, then kudos to them.”
Mr Peskov said the public row in the White House on Friday “showed how difficult it will be to get a trajectory towards a settlement around Ukraine”.
However, Friedrich Merz, who is expected to be Germany’s next chancellor after his centre-right CDU/CSU alliance won last month’s election, said the incident showed a “certain continuity” with earlier aggressive criticism of Europe from senior figures in the Trump White House.
“According to my assessment,” Mr Merz said, “this was not a spontaneous reaction to what Zelenskiy was saying but clearly a deliberate escalation.”
