London – Ukrainian President Voldimia Zelenkie “waives” Kiev in revived peace talks with Russia aimed at ending a war between the two countries, who are now nearly three years old. I pleaded not to do so.
President Donald Trump’s return to the White House raises new prospects for negotiations, and the president reported this weekend that he had “progressed” in contact with Kiev and Russian President Vladimir Putin.
In an interview with UK ITV News published this weekend, Zelenskyy said, “We understand that America and Europe don’t abandon us, we support us and provide security assurances. “All forms of preparation are ready.”
Russian officials have expressed openness to new talks, but are willing to downgrade Moscow’s longtime war goals to annex Ukrainian Swas and block Kiev’s ambitions to join NATO. Not shown.
Ukrainian soldiers operate a how-gun on the frontline near Pokrovsk in Pokrovsk, Ukraine on February 9, 2025.
Pierre Chrome/Getty Images
Putin said he would not directly negotiate with Zelensky to dismiss Ukrainian leaders as “illegal.”
A senior Russian official on Monday told state-owned news agency Ria Novosti that Moscow has not yet received proper negotiation proposals from the Trump administration.
“We will approach such statements realistically. The words are supported by practical steps that take into account Russia’s legitimate interests, eradicate the root cause of the crisis, and demonstrate their willingness to recognize new reality. It is important to note that there is no specific proposal of this nature. It has still been received,” Deputy Minister Mikhail Gardin said.
As White House officials prepare to travel to both Germany and Ukraine, diplomatic operations will continue and a fresh, high-level peace conference is expected.
Vice President JD Vance will be attending the Munich Security Conference in southern Germany next weekend. There, Zelenskyy is expected to lead the Kyiv delegation.
Trump’s Ukrainian and Russian envoy Keith Kellogg is scheduled to visit Ukraine on February 20th.
In an interview with ITV, Zelenskyy warned the White House against simply freezing conflicts along the current frontline.
“A frozen conflict will lead to aggression over and over again,” the Ukrainian leader said. “Then who wins the award and takes history as a winner? There’s no one there. That’s important to both of us, and it’s an absolute defeat for everyone to Trump.”
In this handout released on February 10, 2025, the firefighters work in a residential area hit by a Russian drone strike in Smee, Ukraine.
Ukraine/National Emergency Services via Reuters
In preparation for a new talk, both Moscow and Kiev continued to trade massive drone attacks on Sunday night.
The Ukrainian air force told Telegram that 61 of the 83 Russian drones were fired at the country, and 22 more were lost during flight.
Authorities reported that drone fragments caused damage to the buildings of non-residents in Kiev after they caused fire. An woman was injured in Smee city after a drone exploded in a parking lot, officials said.
Meanwhile, the Russian Ministry of Defense said it had fired down 17 Ukrainian drones in the Black Sea, Crimea and several Russian regions.
Beniamin Kondratiev, governor of the Krasnodar region of southern Russia, said on Telegram that fragments from Ukrainian drones damaged the multi-plate building but did not cause casualties.
Andriy Kovalenko, head of Ukrainian disinformation centre, which serves as part of the country’s national security and defense council, said on Telegram that the drones have targeted Affipsky oil refineries in the Krasnodar region .
ABC News ‘Will Gretsky and Max Uzol contributed to this report.
