Ukraine and its European allies on Wednesday accused Russian President Vladimir Putin of feigning interest in peace efforts after five hours of talks with US envoys at the Kremlin produced no breakthrough or compromise.
Ukrainian Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha urged Putin to “stop wasting the world’s time,” while the UK Foreign Secretary Yvette Cooper called on the Russian leader to “end the bluster and the bloodshed and be ready to come to the table and to support a just and lasting peace”.
The remarks came as foreign ministers from European NATO countries showed little patience with Moscow in their Brussels meeting on Wednesday, following the outcome of the Kremlin talks with US envoys Steve Witkoff and Trump’s son-in-law Jared Kushner.
“What we see is that Putin has not changed any course. He’s pushing more aggressively on the battlefield,” Estonian Foreign Minister Margus Tsahkna said. “It’s pretty obvious that he doesn’t want to have any kind of peace”.
Finnish Foreign Minister Elina Valtonen struck the same note. “So far we haven’t seen any concessions from the side of the aggressor, which is Russia, and I think the best confidence-building measure would be to start with a full ceasefire,” she said.
The comments reflected the high tensions and gaping gulf between Russia on one side and Ukraine and its European allies, whom Putin on Tuesday accused of sabotaging the US-led peace efforts, with the warning that, if provoked, Russia would be ready for war with Europe.
According to Putin’s foreign affairs adviser, Yuri Ushakov, Tuesday’s talks at the Kremlin between Putin and Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner were “positive,” but he wouldn’t release any details.
US envoys to meet with Ukraine officials
Late Wednesday, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said, “The world clearly feels that the possibility of ending the war exists”.
In comments from his evening address posted on Telegram, Zelenskyy said the effort depends on “constructive diplomacy plus pressure on the aggressor. Both components work towards peace”.
His comments come ahead as Trump’s envoys Witkoff and Kushner are set to meet with Ukraine’s lead negotiator, Rustem Umerov, on Thursday in Miami for further talks.
According to US President Donald Trump, Witkoff and Kushner came away from their marathon session with Putin confident that he wants to find an end to the war. “Their impression was very strongly that he’d like to make a deal,” Trump said.
Europeans step up assistance for Ukraine
Meanwhile, NATO Secretary-General Mark Rutte said Ukraine’s partners will keep supplying military aid to ensure pressure is maintained on Moscow.
“The peace talks are ongoing. That’s good,” Rutte said.
“But at the same time, we have to make sure that whilst they take place and we are not sure when they will end, that Ukraine is in the strongest possible position to keep the fight going, to fight back against the Russians,” he said.
Canada, Germany, Poland, and the Netherlands announced they will spend hundreds of millions of dollars more together to buy US weapons to donate to Ukraine.
Since the 2022 invasion, European governments, along with the US, have spent billions of dollars to support Kyiv financially and militarily.
Under Trump, however, the US has tempered its support — and instead made a push to end the war.
Unlike the Biden administration, the Trump administration has not approved donations of weapons to Ukraine. Instead, it has sold them directly to Kyiv or to NATO allies who give them to Ukraine.