May 31 - Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy said in an interview broadcast on Sunday that he wants to press ahead with diplomatic efforts to reach a peace agreement with Russia before the onset of winter, citing what he described as an improved strategic position for Kyiv.
In remarks to CBS Television’s 'Face the Nation', Zelenskiy said the balance on the battlefield had shifted in Ukraine’s favour. "It began in December 2025, Russia began to lose the initiative on the battlefield," he said. "So now we have this period of time before the winter... before the winter we need to find a way, diplomatic way, to sit and to speak."
Zelenskiy tied the prospects for talks to pressure on Russian President Vladimir Putin, saying that pressure within Russian society appears to be growing and urging that sanctions be increased rather than eased. He said the feasibility of negotiations also depends on that rising pressure. In his words, the sanctions dynamic should be "not to lift them, to put more."
The president outlined possible formats for talks, saying they could be arranged with European assistance or take the form of bilateral meetings with Russia. He reiterated his call for tougher sanctions as part of the leverage Kyiv needs in any diplomatic process.
U.S.-brokered discussions aimed at moving toward a peace accord, Zelenskiy noted, have stalled recently as Washington has focused diplomatic and security attention on the conflict in Iran. He said Kyiv still seeks to revive momentum ahead of winter.
Military leaders in Kyiv have offered a similar timeline. A senior Ukrainian commander told Reuters last week that Ukraine had a six-month window to seize the initiative on the battlefield and strengthen its negotiating position. Brigadier General Andriy Biletsky, commander of the Third Army Corps, said he believed Russia’s forces were exhausted and unlikely to achieve major breakthroughs.
Zelenskiy also addressed Ukraine’s air-defence needs in the interview, saying that until a European anti-missile defence programme is in place, Kyiv requires continued support from the United States in the form of air-defence missiles. "Until the moment we will produce our European anti-ballistic system, until this moment, we need support from the United States," he said.
On military-technical cooperation, Zelenskiy said Ukraine hopes to finalise a significant drone deal with the European Union and to reach similar decisions with American partners. He highlighted Kyiv’s experience from five years of shooting down Russian drones and missiles as expertise Ukraine can contribute to joint programmes. "We have already drone deals with some Middle East countries and we have already drone deals with some European countries," he said. "Now we’re preparing the big drone deal with the European Union and I hope that we will have such decisions with American partners. I count on it."
The president’s comments combine diplomatic outreach - seeking talks before winter - with demands for stronger sanctions and for concrete military assistance, particularly in air-defence capabilities and unmanned systems cooperation. How much these initiatives advance will depend, he said, on mounting pressure on Moscow and the international partners' willingness to deepen sanctions and military support.