There is no peace because Russia refuses to end the war. On 16 June, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy accused Russia of derailing all global efforts to achieve peace, speaking at a press conference in Vienna following talks with Austrian President Alexander Van der Bellen, UNIAN reports. 

Zelenskyy emphasized that Kyiv remains open to diplomacy, but the Kremlin blocks every initiative.

“We’re doing everything we can to end this war… but there’s no ceasefire, no honest diplomacy, no lasting security. And that’s only because of Russia,” he said.

He called for increased pressure on Moscow to stop the bloodshed and destruction, adding that this was a key focus of his discussions in Vienna.

Zelenskyy urged the EU to adopt a strong 18th sanctions package and maintain existing restrictions, including the freeze on Russian assets.

According to the Ukrainian leader, President Van der Bellen expressed readiness to support peace efforts and provide “credible mediation” in any potential talks with Russia.

Zelenskyy also stressed the importance of preserving transatlantic unity.

“We all want the US–Europe alliance to stay strong. If it collapses, Europe will have to rapidly build up its defense industry, which takes big money and very little time,” he warned.

Finally, Zelenskyy announced plans to speak with US President Donald Trump about a new defense package Ukraine is ready to purchase.

Russia has begun striking targets in Ukraine with “deadly accuracy.” Improved North Korean KN-23 ballistic missiles have given Moscow a much-needed source of short-range missiles, Kyrylo Budanov, chief of Ukrainian military intelligence, told The War Zone.

“Initially, with the beginning of the transfer to Russia, they were flying with a deviation of a few kilometers, but now they are exactly hitting the target. This is the result of the common work of Russian and North Korean specialists,” he said.

He also noted that Russia is providing North Korea with technology in exchange for troop and weapons supplies.

“Also, there is the modernization of the aviation means of engagement — long-range air-to-air missiles. Particular technologies on submarines. Unfortunately, ballistic missiles which are carriers of nuclear payloads,” the intelligence chief explained.

Budanov also added that agreements exist to begin establishing production facilities on North Korean territory for manufacturing “Harpy” and Shahed-136 drones, which will lead to changes in the regional military balance between North and South Korea.

Additionally, North Korea supplies Russia with:

• 122mm D-74 guns
• 107mm infantry variant MLRS
• 240mm MLRS
• 170mm M1989 Koksan self-propelled artillery

The latter system performs quite well in combat. It fires from a considerable distance and is quite accurate, Budanov noted.

He added that, according to intelligence data, Pyongyang has transferred 120 such systems to Russia. Budanov believes that supplies of these systems to Russia will continue.

Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov has revealed Russia’s real objectives in peace negotiations. On 9 June, he said that after talks in Istanbul, Moscow would continue to fight against Ukraine, but is ready to address humanitarian issues through diplomacy, TASS reports. 

Lavrov made this statement at the Future Forum 2050 in Moscow. 

“The special operation will be continued after negotiations with Ukraine in Istanbul. However, Russia is ready to simultaneously advance the resolution of humanitarian issues through diplomacy,” Lavrov said.

One cannot exist if other does: Kremlin directly says war on Ukraine is about elimination, not land

At the same time, the Russian foreign minister added that Ukraine allegedly shows “growing terrorist threats.”

“Risks of growing terrorist threats exist. We see them and will do everything to ensure they are suppressed and do not harm our citizens,” he declared.

He also accused Britain of helping carry out attacks on targets within Russian territory, conveniently forgetting about Russia’s own strikes on Ukraine.

According to him, Ukraine “would be helpless without British support.” Lavrov also did not overlook the US’s involvement in the operation, according to UNIAN.

“Who knows, maybe US intelligence services are also involved, but the British—100%,” he said.

Also, Errol Musk, Elon Musk’s father, came to Moscow for the forum, Channel 24 reports. He praised Russia and Putin personally. He regretted not having visited Russia earlier, as it is “incredible.”

This is not his first statement of this kind. Previously, he argued that Putin “says logical things,” forgetting to mention that Russia’s war against Ukraine has killed nearly 13,000 civilians, including 618 children.

Ukraine has received no response from Russia to its peace proposals handed over ahead of the second round of talks in Istanbul, Foreign Minister Andriy Sybiha said on 9 June during a joint press conference in Kyiv with Lithuanian counterpart Kęstutis Budrys, Suspilne reports.

Sybiha stated that Moscow has yet to reply to the “constructive proposals” Ukraine presented and accused the Kremlin of blocking the peace process.

“Instead, they (the Russian delegation, – Ed.) threw a list of ultimatums on the table in Istanbul, which are unacceptable to diplomats,” Sybiha said.

He emphasized the need to increase pressure on Russia and all entities aiding its war against Ukraine, pointing to the Kremlin’s actions as further proof of its unwillingness to pursue a peaceful resolution.

US repeats Ukraine-Russia talks mantra despite Russia’s rejection of ceasefires

Details of the Ukrainian memorandum

Suspilne previously obtained the full text of Ukraine’s memorandum presented during the Istanbul talks on 2 June. The document includes proposals for a ceasefire, monitoring of the truce, and a presidential meeting between Volodymyr Zelenskyy and Vladimir Putin.

It also calls for Russia’s unconditional return of all deported and displaced Ukrainian children, a full prisoner exchange, and the release of all civilian detainees. These measures are meant to cover all individuals affected since February 2014.

Defense Minister Rustem Umerov had disclosed on 28 May that the Ukrainian delegation had handed this memorandum to the head of the Russian negotiating team, Vladimir Medinsky.

Trump stalls Senate bipartisan sanctions bill

Russia’s conditions and response

During the 2 June session, Russia provided its own memorandum, which it claims includes steps for ending the war. According to this document, Russia demands a full withdrawal of the Ukrainian Armed Forces from Donetsk, Luhansk, Zaporizhzhia, and Kherson oblasts, and recognition of these territories as Russian. The memorandum also requires Ukraine to adopt a neutral status, stop receiving weapons, and cease intelligence cooperation.

President Volodymyr Zelenskyy described Russia’s memorandum as an “ultimatum.”

US President Donald Trump compared the war in Ukraine to a fight between two children. In response, the Kremlin declared that this war is “existential” for Russia. Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov says the war is a “matter of the future” for Russia.

“Of course, the US president may have his own view of what’s happening, but for us, this is an existential issue — a matter of our national interests, our security, and the future of ourselves and our children, the future of our country,” he claims.

He adds that Russia does not believe Trump is trying to abandon his mediator role with such remarks. Peskov also says Moscow is grateful to the US for its mediation efforts and emphasized the importance of continued contact with Washington.

The Kremlin also states that the massive missile and drone strike on Ukraine in the early hours of 6 June was in retaliation for Ukraine’s Operation Spiderweb. That night, Russia launched a combined attack using various types of missiles and strike drones.

In total, Russian forces fired 452 aerial weapons. As a result of Ukraine’s air defense operations, 199 drones and 36 missiles were shot down. The latest Russian assault caused casualties, injuries, and destruction across multiple regions of Ukraine.

According to Russia’s Defense Ministry, its forces allegedly carried out “precision strikes” against targets in Ukraine’s defense industry and weapons depots. In reality, Ukrainian rescue workers and civilians were among the victims, including a couple in Lutsk who had planned to marry. A Russian missile destroyed their apartment building, obliterating the section from the eighth floor down. The couple was later found under the rubble in the basement.

Ukraine warns of a nuclear disaster risk that could impact all of Europe. Moscow is reportedly considering reconnecting the Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant to the Russian energy grid despite serious technical problems, UNIAN reports.

According to Yury Sheiko, First Deputy Minister of Energy of Ukraine, the plant’s power units remain in cold shutdown and are not generating electricity. The station is still being powered by Ukraine’s energy grid.

“They have no spare parts, no equipment, and no idea how to maintain or repair it,” Sheiko stresses.

The situation is even more dangerous due to a lack of qualified personnel. Most Ukrainian specialists do not have access to the equipment, and the technical condition of the plant remains unknown.

“No repairs have been carried out. The plant is not ready to be restarted. It’s extremely risky,” he warns.

Ukraine believes that Russia is using the prospect of restarting the plant as a tool of nuclear blackmail, trying to pressure both Kyiv and the international community.

Earlier, Petro Andriushchenko, head of the Center for the Study of Occupation, reported that Russia may be preparing to connect the ZNPP to its own grid, constructing a power line to restore the plant’s full operation.

Meanwhile, IAEA Director General Rafael Grossi stated that the agency has no evidence that the plant is being reconnected to the Russian grid. He also noted that the ZNPP cannot be restarted due to a lack of cooling water for the reactors.

Polish Foreign Minister Radosław Sikorski has praised Ukraine for eliminating nearly 4,000 Russian tanks since the start of the full-scale invasion, calling it “about 20 years” worth of current Russian production.

“Well done and thank you, Ukraine,” he writes on X. 

In May, Sikorski described Russia’s war as a colonial campaign by a former empire against its “rebellious colony,” adding that history shows such wars rarely end quickly, and any faster resolution would be “a bonus,” Le Monde reports. 

He suggested that peace could come only when the Kremlin sees the cost of occupying Ukraine as outweighing the benefits.

Earlier, Karl von Habsburg, an Austrian deputy and grandson of the last Austro-Hungarian emperor, called for the breakup of the Russian Federation, labeling it a classic colonial empire.

Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov said a meeting between Russian leader Vladimir Putin and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy is possible.

The meeting can only happen as a result of agreements between delegations from both sides, Russian propaganda agencies RIA Novosti and TASS reported, citing Peskov.

This announcement follows 16 May trilateral negotiations, which took place in Istanbul between delegations from Ukraine, the United States and Türkiye. The same day saw a meeting between Ukrainian and Russian delegations with Türkiye’s participation. These became the first direct negotiations between Kyiv and Moscow since 2022.

“There are no changes in the position regarding the fundamental possibility of such a meeting,” Peskov claimed. “But such a meeting should be the result of specific agreements of two delegations in various directions.”

Peskov also said that no decisions have been made about the location for the next round of negotiations between Russia and Ukraine. The location must be convenient for both sides, he said.

The comments follow Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy’s statement to journalists that he is ready for a meeting between the leaders of Ukraine, Russia and the United States in any format.

Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said Russia will insist on canceling “discriminatory laws” regarding restrictions on the Russian language at the next round of talks with Ukraine. Russia will also demand Ukraine’s non-bloc and nuclear-free status, Lavrov said. The date for the next round will be announced soon, according to Lavrov.

The Russian side refused to consider the Holy See as a venue for “peace negotiations” with Ukraine. Russia cites EU sanctions as one reason for this refusal.

US President’s special envoy for Ukraine Keith Kellogg told Fox News that the United States received a list of conditions from Kyiv for ending the war. The US now awaits such a list from Russia, Kellogg said.

Kremlin lies crash into reality, new Ukrainian poll reveals. According to the survey, 82% of Russian-speaking Ukrainians hold a negative view of Russia.

In contrast, only 13% of Ukrainians confirm a positive attitude toward Russia. For comparison, 79% view France positively, 75% the UK, and 71.5% Poland.

As for religious affiliation, 11% identify themselves as followers of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church of the Moscow Patriarchate, while nearly twice as many, 20%, say they belong to the Orthodox Church of Ukraine.

When asked which societal model they found more appealing, 42% chose the European model, while only 6% favored the Russian one.

Among Russian-speaking Ukrainians surveyed, 81.5% trust the Ukrainian Armed Forces, while 14% expressed distrust. Some 4% say they are either serving in the Armed Forces or are involved in volunteer defense efforts, and 24.5% of respondents support the defense of the country financially.

When asked, “If it were up to you, what would you be willing to concede in negotiations with Russia?” only 17% of Russian-speaking citizens said they would agree to ceding Ukrainian territories. 

The survey also reveals that 26% of respondents are willing to concede Ukraine’s pro-Western course of development, and 54% believe Ukraine should not agree to reduce its Armed Forces, even if that’s a condition for a peace deal with Russia, with only 27% ready to agree to that.

Some 55% of respondents in this group believe Ukraine will win the war against Russia, while 33% do not. Only 40% think a peace agreement between Kyiv and Moscow is possible in the near future, whereas 48% do not consider it so.