Zelensky says failure of US envoys to visit Kyiv is 'disrespectful'

The last trilateral summit between Russia, the US and Ukraine was in mid-February. Less than two weeks later, the US and Israel began striking Iran and attention switched away from ending the Ukraine war, which has been raging for more than four years.Witkoff and Kushner are part of the US negotiating team travelling to Pakistan for ceasefire talks with Iran, and Zelensky acknowledged that the attention of the US was on the Middle East. "But... in any case, for us it is important to continue cooperating with the Americans," he added.Ceasefire talks gained pace in autumn 2025, when it emerged that Russian and US officials had been working on a plan to end the war in Ukraine that appeared to include several terms unfavourable to Kyiv. Ukraine pushed to be involved in the talks, and several meetings and summits ensued. By February, both Moscow and Kyiv said they had reached an agreement on some "military issues", including the location of the front line and ceasefire monitoring.Other issues remain unresolved, including Ukraine's demand that Russia returns the Ukrainian children it forcibly deported since the start of the war, and Moscow's insistence on a "regime change" in Kyiv. But the key matter is the status of Ukraine's eastern Donbas region. Moscow's demand for sovereign Ukrainian territory in exchange for an end to the war is unacceptable to Kyiv, and neither side is willing to budge - leaving the talks at a dead-end."We are looking for a compromise between two completely polar positions," said Kyrylo Budanov, Zelensky's chief of staff, in February. "We have not yet found it."In the end, he added, both Kyiv and Moscow will "have to acknowledge one of two things: either we find a solution and end this war, or we all equally take responsibility for admitting that we didn't find a solution and continue to kill one another - something we do quite efficiently and professionally."The war, which started when Russia launched its full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022, has been an everyday reality for Ukrainians for over four years. Large swathes of eastern Ukraine are under Russian control, and Kyiv and Moscow's troops continue to engage in direct battle on a long front line stretching from Luhansk in the north-east to Kherson in the south. Cities across Ukraine come under regular aerial attacks, with Russia employing hundreds of drones and missiles that kill civilians and damage infrastructure.On one night last week Russia launched more than 700 drones and missiles in multiple waves, killing at least 18 people.Meanwhile Ukraine has ramped up its attacks on Russian energy infrastructure with long-range drones, hitting ports, factories, depots and oil terminals far into Russian territory.