Ahmed Kamel – Egypt Daily News
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy on Sunday called for intensified international pressure on Russia as Washington continues its latest diplomatic effort to advance a negotiated end to the war. His appeal came as both Kyiv and Moscow carried out fresh long-range strikes, underscoring the gulf between battlefield realities and renewed attempts at diplomacy.
“We are starting a new diplomatic week,” Zelenskyy said in a series of social-media posts, noting that Ukrainian officials will meet European partners in the coming days while he travels to the United Kingdom on Monday. Among Ukraine’s top concerns, he said, are securing long-term military assistance, sustaining air-defense capabilities, and ensuring continued financial support.
Zelenskyy said his negotiators National Security and Defense Council Secretary Rustem Umerov and Chief of the General Staff Andrii Hnatov, held “substantive discussions” with U.S. envoys in recent days. The delegation is now returning to Europe, where Kyiv expects to receive detailed briefings on what American representatives discussed during their parallel meetings in Moscow.
“Ukraine deserves a dignified peace, and whether there will be peace depends entirely on Russia,” Zelenskyy said. “On our collective pressure on Russia, and on the sound negotiating positions of the United States, Europe, and all our partners.” He again insisted that Russia must be held accountable for its ongoing missile strikes and what he described as a campaign of “constant terror” against Ukrainian civilians.
Meanwhile, former U.S. President Donald Trump now at the center of the American diplomatic push signaled irritation with Zelenskyy’s stance on the latest proposed peace framework.
“We’ve been speaking to President Putin and to Ukrainian leaders, including President Zelenskyy,” Trump told reporters Sunday. “I have to say I’m a little bit disappointed that President Zelenskyy hasn’t yet read the proposal that was as of a few hours ago.”
Trump added that, in his view, “Russia’s fine with it,” though he acknowledged Moscow would “rather have the whole country.” He claimed that Ukrainian officials were receptive but suggested Zelenskyy himself was holding back, saying, “His people love it, but he hasn’t read it.”
The United States initially presented Kyiv with a 28-point plan widely criticized as heavily tilted toward Russia. The draft reportedly called for Ukraine to surrender parts of its eastern territory and accept restrictions on the size of its military. Although Moscow did not endorse the proposal outright, Russian President Vladimir Putin said it could “form the basis for future agreements.” Following negotiations with Ukrainian officials, the plan was pared down to 19 points, though core disagreements including territorial control and Western security guarantees for Ukraine remain unresolved.
Trump’s presidential envoy Steve Witkoff and his son-in-law Jared Kushner have traveled to Moscow for discussions with Putin and also met Ukrainian representatives as they attempt to outline a possible structure for future talks.
Despite diplomatic activity, military operations continued unabated. Ukraine’s air force said Russia launched 149 drones overnight, with 131 intercepted or electronically suppressed. The Ukrainian Energy Ministry reported widespread power outages in Dnipropetrovsk, Donetsk, Zaporizhzhia, Sumy and Chernihiv regions due to sustained attacks on critical infrastructure.
Ukraine also continued its own long-range campaign. Russia’s Defense Ministry said its forces shot down at least 74 Ukrainian drones overnight, including two near Moscow.
With diplomatic overtures unfolding alongside the heaviest aerial exchanges in weeks, both sides appear engaged in negotiations while simultaneously preparing for a prolonged conflict a dual track that has become a defining pattern of the war.
