Zelenskyy says Putin ‘still wants war’ as Kremlin rejects peace summit

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said on Monday that intelligence assessments from Ukraine and its partners all point to the same conclusion: Russian President Vladimir Putin "personally still wants war," even as the majority of Russian society would accept a halt to fighting along the current front line.unn+2

Zelenskyy's remarks, delivered in his nightly address, came hours after the Kremlin dismissed the prospect of a three-way peace summit between Putin, U.S. President Donald Trump, and Zelenskyy. Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said "such a meeting is possible only to fix agreements," calling it pointless without a deal already in hand.kyivpost+1

Diplomacy in Motion

Zelenskyy said he had spoken with Trump representatives Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner, who are preparing for meetings with Russia and a visit to Ukraine. "September may change a lot," Zelenskyy said, "and together with our partners we must do everything to protect people, to protect life, and for peace".newsukraine.rbc+3

The diplomatic flurry follows CIA Director John Ratcliffe's secret visit to Moscow on August 25, where he met Russia's top security officials including SVR chief Sergei Naryshkin and FSB Director Alexander Bortnikov. According to The Wall Street Journal News Corp ↗ 0.90%, Ratcliffe delivered a "bleak assessment" of the Russian military and economy and urged Moscow to strike a deal before its position worsened. The Washington Post reported that the trip, which Trump ordered without informing some of his closest aides, lasted about eight and a half hours.wsj+2

Escalation on the Ground

The diplomatic push unfolds against a backdrop of escalating violence. Russia's Defense Ministry announced it is preparing "massive strikes" on Ukraine's energy infrastructure, framing the planned attacks as retaliation for Ukrainian strikes on Russian energy sites, according to CNBC.cnbc

Meanwhile, according to Kyiv Post, Ukrainian Presidential Office head Kyrylo Budanov said U.S.-mediated talks between Ukrainian and Russian delegations could take place in September, though his deputy warned that Putin had ordered Russia's military to prepare several offensive scenarios in northern Ukraine.kyivpost

A Widening Gap

The gap between the two sides remains wide. Moscow continues to demand that Ukraine surrender its remaining hold on the Donbas, where Kyiv's forces control roughly 20 percent of the territory. Zelenskyy, for his part, urged that "the mood in Moscow, in Putin, must be appropriate — a mood to end the war, not to fight". Whether September's expected diplomatic engagements can bridge that divide remains an open question.unn+1