Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has lashed out at Russia, saying Moscow is deliberately stalling peace talks and seeking to prolong the three-year-old war. He made the remarks after recent talks in Istanbul, Turkey. A few days ago, Russian and Ukrainian officials held their first face-to-face talks in three years. Zelensky called the Russian delegation involved in the talks “brainless” and said it was clear that Russia was just stalling so it could continue its occupation and war.
Meanwhile, US President Donald Trump claimed that he spoke to both Russian President Vladimir Putin and Zelensky on the phone on Monday and that there had been “major progress” in the talks. If all goes well, a ceasefire could be immediate, although Putin has not yet agreed to an immediate and unconditional ceasefire. But Putin said he would work on a memorandum that would outline the two sides’ differences on ending the conflict. On May 20, Britain and the European Union announced new economic sanctions on Russia. The sanctions will specifically target Russia’s shadow fleet, oil tankers and financial companies that are helping Russia evade the G7 and EU’s $60 per barrel oil price ceiling. The new sanctions are aimed at putting more pressure on Russia’s economy so that it can limit its funding for the war. European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen has also indicated that a further sanctions package is in the works.
