Ukraine’s Zelensky speaks to Trump envoys to ‘reinvigorate diplomacy’

KYIV - Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said on July 22 he had spoken with US envoys Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner in a bid to revive diplomatic efforts to end the war with Russia.

US-led talks on resolving the conflict have stalled since Washington’s attention has turned to the Middle East, while Russia stuck to its hardline demand that Ukraine cede territory.

“I just spoke with President Trump’s envoys, Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner. It was a good, important conversation on how to reinvigorate diplomacy and bring peace closer,” Zelensky said on X.

“Peace is needed – peace with dignity, and Ukraine has long been ready for it. Our teams keep staying in close contact, including to follow up on everything we have discussed,” he added.

Meanwhile, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said he would meet his US counterpart Marco Rubio on July 23 on the sidelines of a regional summit in Manila, to discuss the wars in Ukraine and Iran.

In recent months, Kyiv has appeared to stall Moscow’s grinding offensive in the east and has substantially expanded its drone strikes against Russia, disrupting ordinary life there in the war’s fifth year.

Moscow has, meanwhile, escalated its deadly missile strikes against Kyiv, launching dozens of hard-to-intercept rounds as Ukraine struggles with depleted air defence stocks.

Russia has repeatedly urged Ukraine to withdraw from the parts of the eastern Donbas region it still holds as a precondition for any peace deal. Kyiv has rejected the demand.

The war has killed hundreds of thousands of people and spiralled into Europe’s deadliest conflict since World War II. AFP