“We’re standing as we did before, and we will keep standing.” Talks about peace or Russia’s capitulation are illusions, says military pilot Dmytro, callsign Apostol, Voiin Svitla reports. 

“If the aggressor country capitulates, it means huge reparations. No one will pay them,” he emphasizes.

Dmytro stresses that the Ukrainian army is strong due to the work of the rear, volunteers, and funds. But support has fallen critically now.

“We are raising five million for four army aviation brigades. Donations have critically dropped. No one wants to support,” explains the Ukrainian pilot. 

He emphasizes that the soldiers are not tired but need reinforcements.

“My guys and I are not tired. But we don’t need to bury soldiers; we need to go mobilize,” he says.

The pilot finds his greatest motivation in the civilians who don’t give up even in destroyed villages.

“We’re flying over Donetsk Oblast, one small hut, and a boy runs out waving a flag. Isn’t that motivation? I don’t want my children to be involved in war,” he adds.

Earlier, the Ukrainian Defense Ministry revealed that Kyiv forces eliminated more than 230,000 Russian soldiers in just six months of 2025. 

In June alone, Ukrainian forces inflicted heavy casualties: 32,420 Russian troops were killed or injured. Ukrainian strikes also destroyed 111 tanks, 272 armored vehicles.

Russian President Vladimir Putin called on Ukraine to accelerate peace negotiations and accept Moscow’s terms from previous Istanbul talks, warning that Ukraine’s position would deteriorate if talks are postponed.

The Russian leader indicated Moscow is ready to resume peace discussions in Istanbul after 22 June, noting that negotiating teams from both countries maintain ongoing contact, according to Russian state-funded news agency RIA Novosti.

During Istanbul peace talks on 16 May, Russian presidential aide Vladimir Medinsky reportedly told the Ukrainian delegation that Russia is prepared to fight for “a year, two, three—however long it takes,” invoking Russia’s historical 21-year war with Sweden to emphasize its willingness for prolonged conflict.

Despite Russia’s claim of not wanting war, Medinsky warned that some participants might lose more loved ones and that Russia is ready to fight indefinitely.

Independent estimates as of mid-May 2025 indicate Russia suffered heavy military losses, including over 10,800 tanks and nearly 1 million casualties, which contrasts with Medinsky’s “forever war” rhetoric.

During the June negotiations, Ukraine and Russia exchanged position papers outlining their respective visions for ending the war.

Russian demands include: 

• Ukrainian military withdrawal from four occupied regions (some parts of which are not even occupied fully) – Donetsk, Luhansk, Kherson and Zaporizhzhia oblasts.
• written guarantees from Western leaders to halt “NATO’s eastward expansion”, effectively excluding Ukraine, Georgia, and other former Soviet states from membership
• Ukraine adopting a neutral status and limitations on Ukraine’s armed forces.
• partial lifting of Western sanctions
• resolution of frozen Russian assets abroad
• protections for Russian speakers in Ukraine
• holding of Ukrainian elections under terms favorable to Moscow.

Ukraine rejected these demands, insisting on its sovereign right to choose alliances and strong Western security guarantees.

In contrast, Ukraine presented its own ceasefire proposals, including: 

• complete cessation of hostilities 
• return of deported children and prisoner exchanges
• security assurances
• rejection of any forced neutrality or restrictions on its military capabilities and alliances, including NATO membership
• direct talks between Zelenskyy and Putin
• maintaining Ukrainian sovereignty. 

The Institute for the Study of War (ISW) concluded that any peace agreement modeled on the 2022 Istanbul protocols would equate to Ukraine’s capitulation to Russia’s strategic objectives.

Ukraine’s Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha declared that Russia’s rhetoric in 2025 intensified to 2022 levels and aims to weaken Ukraine militarily and politically to eventually destroy the state and exploit its resources.

On 7 June 2025, US Secretary of State Marco Rubio told French Foreign Minister Jean-Noël Barrot that direct negotiations between Ukraine and Russia remain essential for ending the war, according to a readout from the US Department of State.

Rubio brings up direct talks in phone call with Barrot

The US State Department reported that Rubio and Barrot spoke about global security developments. According to the official readout,

“Secretary Rubio underscored the importance of continued direct negotiations between Russia and Ukraine to achieve a lasting peace.”

In the same 7 June call, Rubio and Barrot “reaffirmed their shared commitment to preventing Iran from developing or obtaining a nuclear weapon.” They also discussed support for Israel and emphasized the need to free hostages held in Gaza by Hamas. However, the focus on Ukraine again highlighted Washington’s ongoing strategy of promoting negotiations with Russia.

Zelenskyy rejects Trump’s comparison of war to “two little kids fighting.” He says Putin is murderer who kills these kids

Diplomatic pressure unchanged despite lack of results

Despite all the diplomatic efforts, Russia continues to demand Kyiv’s de facto capitulation, repeating its initial full-scale invasion objectives from 2022.

Rubio’s message comes days after a 2 June meeting in Istanbul between Ukrainian and Russian low-level representatives, where both sides agreed to a new exchange of prisoners and fallen soldiers.

ISW: Ukraine denies Russian claims on alleged blocking of POW and KIA body exchange

However, Ukraine’s First Deputy Foreign Minister Serhii Kyslytsya said that Russia again rejected an unconditional ceasefire.