Russia insists on achieving Ukraine goals despite Trump's ultimatum
Peskov and other Russian officials have repeatedly rejected accusations from Kyiv and its Western partners of stalling peace talks. Meanwhile, Moscow continues to intensify its long-range attacks on Ukrainian cities, launching more drones in a single night than it did during some entire months in 2024, and analysts say the barrages are likely to escalate.
Russian President Vladimir Putin 'has repeatedly spoken of his desire to bring the Ukrainian settlement to a peaceful conclusion as soon as possible. This is a long process, it requires effort, and it is not easy,' Peskov told state television in an interview.
'The main thing for us is to achieve our goals," he said. 'Our goals are clear.'
The Kremlin has insisted that any peace deal should see Ukraine withdraw from the four regions that Russia illegally annexed in September 2022, but never fully captured. It also wants Ukraine to renounce its bid to join NATO and accept strict limits on its armed forces — demands Kyiv and its Western allies have rejected.
In his nightly address on Saturday, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said that his officials have proposed a new round of peace talks this week. Russian state media on Sunday reported that no date has yet been set for the negotiations, but said that Istanbul would likely remain the host city.
Truce or sanctions
Trump threatened Russia on July 14 with steep tariffs and announced a rejuvenated pipeline for American weapons to reach Ukraine, hardening his stance toward Moscow after months of frustration following unsuccessful negotiations aimed at ending the war. The direct Russia-Ukraine negotiations in Istanbul resulted in several rounds of prisoner exchanges but little else.
The U.S. president said that he would implement 'severe tariffs' unless a peace deal is reached within 50 days. He provided few details on how they would be implemented, but suggested they would target Russia's trading partners in an effort to isolate Moscow in the global economy.
In addition, Trump said that European allies would buy 'billions and billions' of dollars of U.S. military equipment to be transferred to Ukraine, replenishing the besieged country's supplies of weapons. Included in the plan are Patriot air defense systems, a top priority for Ukraine as it fends off Russian drones and missiles.
Doubts were recently raised about Trump's commitment to supply Ukraine when the Pentagon paused shipments over concerns that U.S. stockpiles were running low.
Drone strikes
Elsewhere, Ukraine's air force said that it shot down 18 of 57 Shahed-type and decoy drones launched by Russia overnight into Sunday, with seven more disappearing from radar.
Two women were wounded in Zaporizhzhia, a southern Ukrainian region partly occupied by Russia, when a drone struck their house, according to the regional military administration. Two more civilians were wounded in Ukraine's northeastern Kharkiv province, after a drone slammed into a residential building, local Ukrainian officials said.
Later Sunday, drones struck a leafy square in the center of Sumy, wounding a woman and her 7-year-old son, officials said. The strike also damaged a power line, leaving around 100 households without electricity, according to Serhii Krivosheienko, of the municipal military administration.
Meanwhile, Russia's Defense Ministry said that its forces shot down 93 Ukrainian drones targeting Russian territory overnight, including at least 15 that appeared to head for Moscow. At least 13 more drones were downed on the approach to the capital on Sunday, Mayor Sergei Sobyanin said. One drone struck a residential building in Zelenograd, on the outskirts of Moscow, damaging an apartment, but caused no casualties, he said.
___
Follow AP's coverage of the war in Ukraine at https://apnews.com/hub/russia-ukraine
The Associated Press
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Yahoo
2 hours ago
- Yahoo
First sanctions targeting people-smuggling gangs take effect
The first wave of sanctions aimed at key figures in people-smuggling gangs have come into force in a bid to hit those involved in assisting illegal immigration to the UK. They target 25 individuals and entities including a small boat supplier in Asia and gang leaders based in the Balkans and North Africa. They also hit 'middlemen' putting cash through the Hawala legal money transfer system in the Middle East, which is used in payments linked to Channel crossings. Albanian Bledar Lala, leader of the Belgian operations of an organised smuggling group, and a company in China that advertised small boats for people smuggling on an online marketplace are among those sanctioned. Today I launched the world's first sanctions regime against people smugglers and organised immigration crime, which are key drivers of irregular migration to the UK. It is our moral duty to smash this evil trade. These callous criminals will have nowhere to hide. — David Lammy (@DavidLammy) July 22, 2025 Foreign Secretary David Lammy said it was a 'landmark moment in the Government's work to tackle organised immigration crime (and) reduce irregular migration to the UK'. 'From Europe to Asia we are taking the fight to the people-smugglers who enable irregular migration, targeting them wherever they are in the world and making them pay for their actions. 'My message to the gangs who callously risk vulnerable lives for profit is this: we know who you are, and we will work with our partners around the world to hold you to account.' The measures aim to target organised crime gangs wherever they are in the world and disrupt their flow of cash, including freezing bank accounts, property and other assets, to hinder their activities. It will be illegal for UK businesses and banks to deal with anyone named on the list. The move follows legislation being introduced under the Border Security, Asylum and Immigration Bill to ramp up enforcement powers for police forces and partners to investigate and prosecute people smugglers.
Newsweek
2 hours ago
- Newsweek
Protests Break Out Against Zelensky in Ukraine: What to Know
Based on facts, either observed and verified firsthand by the reporter, or reported and verified from knowledgeable sources. Newsweek AI is in beta. Translations may contain inaccuracies—please refer to the original content. Protests have broken out against Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky after he signed a bill that critics says weakens the country's anti-corruption agencies. The law effectively strips the National Anti-Corruption Bureau (NABU) and the Specialised Anti-Corruption Prosecutor's Office (SAPO) of their independence and places them under the control of the prosecutor general. It will make it easier for the government to control which cases are pursued. Dmytro Koziatynskyi, a veteran of the Russia-Ukraine war, rallied hundreds of Ukrainians for the protests on Tuesday. He called the bill an "assault on the anti-corruption framework," according to Ukrainska Pravda. He added: "Time is not on our side... we must take to the streets tonight and urge Zelensky to prevent a return to the dark days of Yanukovych. See you this evening!" He was referring to Ukraine's former president Viktor Yanukovych, who was removed from the presidency in 2014 following weeks of protests. People chant during a protest in central Kyiv, Ukraine, on Tuesday. People chant during a protest in central Kyiv, Ukraine, on Tuesday. AP This is a developing story. More to follow.
Washington Post
2 hours ago
- Washington Post
Ukraine's top commander asks Trump to help take the war to Russia
KYIV — Ukraine urgently needs the United States and Europe to transfer more air defense systems and missiles to Kyiv, Ukraine's commander in chief Gen. Oleksandr Syrsky said in an interview with The Washington Post — and without a Biden-era ban on deep strikes against Russian military targets. Syrsky's call for ramped-up support comes amid a devastating wave of Russian attacks against Ukrainian cities this summer, with Moscow pummeling civilians nightly with ballistic missiles and hundreds of armed drones. Ukraine is also facing challenges on the battlefield as it struggles to mobilize the troops needed to stem the grinding advance of a numerically superior foe.
