Ukraine war latest: Kremlin says there will be ‘no miracles’ at peace summit today

Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelensky appointed over a dozen new ambassadors on Monday, during a big shakeup that has seen him replace top cabinet officials and envoys to shore up relations with Washington and isolate Russia internationally.

The new envoys named on Monday include ambassadors to Nato members Belgium, Canada, Estonia and Spain, as well as major donor Japan and regional heavyweights South Africa and the United Arab Emirates.

Mr Zelensky launched a major government reshuffle last week, promoting Yulia Svyrydenko, 39, who had served as economy minister and is well known in Washington, to head the cabinet as prime minister.

Deputy prime minister Olha Stefanishyna is set to become Ukraine’s new envoy to the United States, as Ukraine seeks to mend ties with the Trump administration.

In remarks to the diplomatic corps released by his office, Zelensky said envoys needed to support “everything that causes Russia pain for its war”.

“While the content of our relationship with America has transformed following the change in administration, the goal remains unchanged: Ukraine must withstand Russia’s strikes,” Zelensky said.

Russian troops killed three people, including a 10-year-old boy, in overnight drone and missile attacks just a day before peace talks between Kyiv and Moscow.

The civilians were killed in Donetsk, including a child in Kramatorsk, after Russia launched 42 drones, including Iranian-made Shaheds, on Tuesday morning, according to officials.

At least 26 drones were shot down, and seven more were lost or suppressed by electronic warfare systems. Around 24 people were injured.

A third round of ceasefire negotiations is set to take place in Istanbul, Turkey, on Wednesday, after previous talks in May and June failed to yield any results.

Ukraine’s allies are looking to see whether some member states in the European Union could supply Ukraine with five Patriot missile defence systems, of which Germany is willing to finance two, Germany’s defence minister Boris Pistorius said on Tuesday.

Pistorius said Germany would have been willing to give two of its own systems to Ukraine but needed reassurance that it could replace them within six to eight months.

“We are now looking for solutions that will allow us to identify Patriot systems in member states in Europe,” he said.

“So, it’s not hopeless, but the prerequisite is that countries that have them are prepared to hand them over now so that others can pay for them and they can go to Ukraine,” he added.

Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelensky has renewed his call to meet Vladimir Putin face to face as Russia cast doubt on fresh peace talks being held this week.

Mr Zelensky said Ukraine was working to “prepare a leaders’ meeting aimed at truly bringing this war to an end”, as the Kremlin said it did not expect any breakthroughs from fresh negotiations being held in Istanbul on Wednesday.

“Our position is fully transparent. Ukraine never wanted this war, and it is Russia that must end the war that it started,” the Ukrainian president said.

In May, Mr Zelensky challenged the Russian leader to meet him, saying he would be waiting in Turkey for him “personally”.

But on Tuesday, Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov said Russia was unlikely to agree to a peace deal and would continue “pursuing our interests”.

The Kremlin said on Tuesday that there was no basis to expect miracles from a proposed third round of direct Russian-Ukrainian peace talks, and declined to give any time frame for a potential agreement to end the war.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said on Saturday that Kyiv has sent Moscow an offer to hold another round of peace talks in Turkey this week, and that he wants to speed up negotiations for a ceasefire.

“There is no reason to expect any breakthroughs in the category of miracles – it is hardly possible in the current situation,” Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov said.

“We intend to pursue our interests, we intend to ensure our interests and fulfil the tasks that we set for ourselves from the very beginning.”

Asked if he could give a sense of how the Kremlin saw the potential time frame of a possible peace agreement, Mr Peskov said he could give no guidance on timing.

“There is a lot of work to be done before we can talk about the possibility of some top-level meetings,” Mr Peskov added, a day after Zelenskiy renewed a call for a meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin.

Ukraine’s allies are looking to see whether some member states in the European Union could supply Ukraine with five Patriot missile defence systems, of which Germany is willing to finance two, Germany’s defence minister Boris Pistorius said on Tuesday.

Pistorius said Germany would have been willing to give two of its own systems to Ukraine but needed reassurance that it could replace them within six to eight months.

“We are now looking for solutions that will allow us to identify Patriot systems in member states in Europe,” he said.

“So, it’s not hopeless, but the prerequisite is that countries that have them are prepared to hand them over now so that others can pay for them and they can go to Ukraine,” he added.