Russian President Vladimir Putin has vowed to continue military action in Ukraine if peace talks fail, as Ukrainian leader Volodymyr Zelensky arrived in Paris for a meeting with European allies.
French President Emmanuel Macron, who will co-host Thursday’s summit of European leaders, said Europe is prepared to offer Ukraine security guarantees once a peace agreement is reached.
Despite diplomatic moves — including US President Donald Trump’s recent meetings with both Putin and Zelensky — progress towards ending the three-and-a-half-year war has stalled.
Putin told reporters in Beijing that Russian forces were advancing “on all fronts” and had weakened Ukraine’s army to the point it could no longer mount an offensive. “If there is no peace deal, then we will have to resolve all our tasks militarily,” he said.
Russia launched fresh overnight strikes across Ukraine, firing more than 500 drones and missiles and killing nine people in Kostiantynivka, a frontline town.
Meanwhile, Zelensky said he had seen no signs of Russia’s willingness to end the war. Ukrainian Foreign Minister Andriy Sybiga accused Moscow of issuing “old ultimatums” and warned that Russia “shows no signs of readiness for meaningful negotiations”.
Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov reiterated that Moscow seeks international recognition of territories it claims to have annexed — Donetsk, Lugansk, Kherson, Zaporizhzhia, and Crimea. Control of these areas remains the central sticking point in peace talks.
Putin dismissed calls for immediate talks with Zelensky, though he claimed he had invited the Ukrainian president to Moscow at Trump’s request. Kyiv rejected the proposal as “cynical”.
As the war grinds on, European leaders are working on security guarantees and potential peacekeeping measures, while Ukraine continues to push for tougher sanctions against Russia.