Ukraine said it is holding back Russia’s summer offensive in eastern regions but has only received pledges from western allies to provide three of the 10 US-built Patriot air defence systems that it needs to shield its cities from missile and drone strikes.
Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelenskiy also called again on his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin to meet him for a summit to end their countries’ war, and said a new Bill to protect the independence of Ukraine’s top anti-corruption agencies should allay domestic and western fears over government meddling in their work.
“They are not advancing. It is very tough for our guys out there. And it is tough everywhere. It is also very hard for the Russians,” Mr Zelenskiy said, playing down small but steady gains made by the Kremlin’s invasion force in parts of eastern Ukraine.
“There are more of them. More pressure. More mobilisation. So we face more risks. They are really trying to make a breakthrough – they have not had any serious breakthroughs,” he added, insisting that small groups of Russian troops that had tried to enter the devastated eastern city of Pokrovsk in recent days had all been eliminated.
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Mr Zelenskiy also noted that the security situation in the northern Sumy area, which borders Russia, had improved in recent weeks, but said western partners had so far only committed to providing three Patriot systems under a new agreement with the US to supply arms to Kyiv via Nato.
“We have requested 10 [Patriots],” he said. “I have officially received confirmation from Germany for two systems, and from Norway for one. We are currently working with Dutch partners.”
A third round of peace talks between Ukrainian and Russian officials in Istanbul failed to make a breakthrough this week, and Kyiv says a summit between Mr Zelenskiy and Mr Putin should be held this summer to end the deadlock. Kyiv wants it to take place in August, before the expiry of a 50-day deadline given to the Kremlin by US president Donald Trump to seek peace or face “severe” tariffs on its trade.
“We need the war to end, and that begins, most likely, with a meeting of leaders. There is no other way with them,” Mr Zelenskiy said. “We always raise this issue publicly. And now they have started talking about it in their conversations with us. This is already a move towards some kind of meeting format.”
Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov again rebuffed the idea of a summit, however, and reiterated that the demands of Russia and Ukraine remain “diametrically opposed.”
“They can hardly be reconciled overnight. This will require extremely complex diplomatic work,” he said. “A high-level meeting could and should put a definitive end to the settlement and solidify ... agreements that must first be developed through expert work. Doing it the other way around is impossible.”
The Kremlin still hopes Washington will press Ukraine to give up territory and abandon its ambition to join Nato, after Mr Trump said during his re-election campaign that he would need just one day in office to end Europe’s biggest war since 1945.
Mr Zelenskiy faced his first street protests of the full-scale war this week after he signed a law to restrict the powers of Ukraine’s main anti-corruption agencies, known by their acronyms Nabu and Sapo.
The European Union and several western governments also expressed alarm at the move, and Mr Zelenskiy responded by drafting a new Bill that he insists protects the independence of the agencies and protects them from Russian interference.
Nabu and Sapo said they back the new Bill, which is expected to come before parliament in Kyiv next week.
