Ukraine-Russia war latest: Zelensky accuses Kremlin of ‘engaging in yet another deception’ over peace proposal

The United States has told the United Nations Security Council that if Russia decided to continue its war, the US would have to consider stepping back from negotiation efforts to end the conflict.

The delegation also said the deal now on offer to end the war in Ukraine was “Russia’s best possible outcome” and President Vladimir Putin should take it.

Russia has accused Serbia of exporting arms to Ukraine, saying it’s a stab in the back by its long-time Slavic Balkan ally.

“Serbian defence enterprises, contrary to the ‘neutrality’ declared by official Belgrade, continue to supply ammunition to Kyiv,” the Russian Foreign Intelligence Service, SVR, said.

Serbia’s populist president Aleksandar Vucic said he had recently discussed arms exports to Ukraine with Vladimir Putin and that it was agreed that the two countries form a “working group” to establish how Serbian-made weapons reach the Ukrainian frontlines.

Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov has said Moscow has received no reply from Kyiv on whether it would attend negotiations on Monday in Istanbul.

But Ukraine’s Volodymyr Zelensky said Russia was “doing everything to make the meetings hollow” and Ukraine’s partners needed to intensify pressure on Moscow.

Ukrainian foreign ministry spokesperson Heorhii Tykhyi said that without being able to review Russia’s memorandum, Kyiv would conclude it was likely to be filled with unrealistic ultimatums, “and they are afraid of revealing that they are stalling the peace process”.

Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelensky says Russia is engaging in “yet another deception” by failing to hand over its peace settlement proposal before a potential meeting between Moscow and Kyiv.

“Even the so-called ‘memorandum’ they promised and seemingly prepared for more than a week has still not been seen by anyone,” Mr Zelensky said.

“Ukraine has not received it. Our partners have not received it. Even Turkey, which hosted the first meeting, has not received the new agenda.

“Despite promises to the contrary, first and foremost to the the United States of America, to President (Donald) Trump: Yet another Russian deception.”

Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov (below) said on Wednesday that Moscow had drafted a memorandum outlining a settlement position in the three-year-old conflict in Ukraine.

North Korea enabled Russia to increase missile attacks on key Ukrainian civilian infrastructure and supplied more than 20,000 containers of munitions, according to a UN group.

The Multilateral Sanctions Monitoring Team, a group comprising 11 UN members, said Moscow helped the North improve missile performance in return by supplying data.

As many as nine million rounds of artillery and rocket launcher ammunition were shipped from North Korea to Russia by Russian cargo vessels as part of military cooperation between the two countries in violation of UN sanctions, the report said.

“At least for the foreseeable future, North Korea and Russia intend to continue and further deepen their military cooperation in contravention of relevant UN Security Council resolutions,” the group said in its first report.

Kyiv has accused Moscow of failing to send a memorandum outlining proposals for a future ceasefire – something it says was agreed on in previous talks.

Donald Trump issued a two-week deadline for Vladimir Putin to demonstrate he wants to end the war.

Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan said Russia’s proposal to hold another round of peace talks with Ukraine in Istanbul next week had heightened Ankara’s hopes for peace.

Nato member Turkey hosted an initial round of peace talks in March 2022 and again on May 16.

Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan held talks in Moscow on Monday and Tuesday, including with Vladimir Putin. He will also meet Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky in Kyiv on Friday.

Erdogan said Ankara was in contact with both countries.

“The road to a resolution goes through more dialogue, more diplomacy. We are using all our diplomatic power and potential for peace,” he was cited as saying by his office.

There is no indication on the ground that Russia is preparing to restart the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant in Ukraine which it is occupying, an official from the UN nuclear watchdog that has a small team on site said on Thursday.

“Our teams continue to confirm there is no indication at the moment that there will be any active preparations for a restart of the plant now,” the International Atomic Energy Agency official said on condition of anonymity.