Zelenskyy says Russian strikes undermine prospects for dialogue

Bloomberg News on Jan 17, 2026

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Constant airstrikes by Kremlin forces are undermining “even the small opportunities for dialogue” between Kyiv and Moscow, said President Volodymyr Zelenskyy.

The Ukrainian president posted on social media as his negotiating team prepared to meet in Miami with U.S. envoys Steve Witkoff, Jared Kushner and Daniel Driscoll. The first readout on the talks is expected later on Saturday, he said.

“The main task for the Ukrainian delegation is to provide all the real information on what is happening, about the consequences of Russian strikes,” Zelenskiy said.

“One of the consequences of this terror is the discrediting of the diplomatic process, people are losing faith in diplomacy,” he added. The American side “must understand this.”

Zelenskyy on Friday said the latest round of talks was aimed at locking down postwar security guarantees for Ukraine, with an eye to signing an agreement during the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, which starts on Monday.

He spoke days after being faulted by U.S. President Donald Trump as the main obstacle to an agreement to end the war Russia launched against Ukraine almost four years ago.

Trump told Reuters in an interview on Wednesday that Russian President Vladimir Putin was “ready to make a deal” and that the impediment was Zelenskyy.

The American president has oscillated between blaming Ukraine and Russia for failing to reach an accord, which he had claimed during his 2024 presidential campaign could be easily resolved.

Ukraine’s presidential chief of staff Kyrylo Budanov posted on X that he expects “an important conversation” with the U.S. team on the details of a peace agreement.

“Ukraine needs a just peace. We are working toward the result,” he said.

Ukrainian gas company Naftogaz said Saturday that Russian forces had attacked its production facilities for the sixth time in the past week. The near-daily attacks on Ukrainian energy infrastructure have resulted in widespread, days-long blackouts across much of the country during the dead of winter.

The current worst-off cities are Kyiv, Kharkiv and Zaporizhzhia and their respective regions, Zelenskiy said on Telegram following a video call with senior officials and regional authorities.

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