Following the recent visit by US mediators to Moscow and Kiev, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy sees a possible window of opportunity for peace negotiations before winter sets in.
Zelenskiy believes Russian President Vladimir Putin is counting on another harsh winter to weaken Ukraine, including by targeting its energy infrastructure, but does not want to antagonise US President Donald Trump ahead of the US midterm elections in early November.
"My feeling [is] that Putin needs Trump," Zelenskiy said in an interview with US news outlet Axios on Monday.
"He doesn't want ... to upset him."
Over the weekend, Putin and Zelenskiy hosted US negotiators Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner for talks on a possible resumption of peace negotiations between Moscow and Kiev. No concrete results were mentioned.
"The most important thing is to continue working together actively to keep diplomacy going," Zelenskiy wrote on X.
"We had substantive discussions about our air defence needs, the relevant technological co-operation, and the winter package we need," he said.
Without going into detail, Zelenskiy told Axios of possible ways to de-escalate the situation before the onset of winter.
He nevertheless assumed that Moscow would want to use the winter to put further pressure on Ukraine.
"Russia really thinks that this winter can help them to break us," Zelenskiy told Axios.
The aim, he said, was to force Kiev to show greater willingness to compromise.
He warned that Ukraine, too, could exert economic pressure on Russia.
"When they attacked our electricity, we blocked their possibility to sell oil and gas," Zelenskiy explained.
However, Ukraine wants to restart the diplomatic negotiation process.
"We have this September, October to find any way to speak," Zelenskiy said.
"Without dialogue . we will not have [a] result."
He expects that Trump will find a way to launch the negotiation process before winter sets in.
UK Prime Minister Andy Burnham spoke to Trump on Monday and agreed the need to “continue working towards a ceasefire that prevented more loss of life” in Ukraine, Downing Street said.
“On Ukraine, the two leaders agreed on the need to continue working towards a ceasefire that prevented more loss of life," a Downing Street spokesperson said.
“The prime minister reiterated the UK’s support for Ukraine and for recent US-led peace negotiations."
with PA
