Zelensky: Ukraine Waiting on US and Russia to Schedule Next Peace Round — Talks at Impasse

On May 15, 2026, Ukrainian President Zelensky publicly stated that Ukraine is waiting on the United States and Russia to schedule the next round of peace negotiations, signaling a diplomatic deadlock in which neither Washington nor Moscow has moved to convene follow-up talks after the failed May 9–11 ceasefire. The Kremlin separately reiterated maximalist positions: Peskov stated that any peace framework requires Ukraine to order its armed forces to withdraw from Donetsk, Luhansk, Zaporizhzhia, and Kherson oblasts — all four of which Russia unilaterally annexed in September 2022 despite not fully controlling them. Putin reiterated willingness to meet Zelensky only in a neutral third country after a comprehensive peace treaty is already finalized, a precondition Ukraine has rejected. Slovakia's PM Robert Fico, following a Moscow visit, relayed that Putin expects Zelensky to call him directly to signal interest in talks — a move Ukraine has not made. Western analysts described the peace process as effectively stalled while the battlefield remained highly active with 257 daily engagements and mass aerial bombardment.