Zelensky: the diplomatic window must be used before next winter

Vladimir Zelensky said that Russia has been losing the initiative on the battlefield since December 2025, and called for seizing this moment to begin negotiations — before the next winter arrives.

The interview aired on Sunday on CBS’s Face the Nation.

Shift on the front line

Speaking to host Margaret Brennan, Zelensky said Russia is no longer able to capture more territory in a month than Ukraine liberates. Ukrainian military commanders share this assessment. Brigadier General Andriy Biletsky, commander of Ukraine’s Third Army Corps, told Reuters last week that the Russian army is “exhausted and incapable of major breakthroughs,” and that Ukraine has a six-month window to strengthen its positions ahead of peace negotiations.

Zelensky and other Ukrainian officials pointed to an intensification of medium- and long-range strikes on Russian territory — primarily against the oil sector — as one of the factors behind this turning point.

Diplomacy before winter

“Before winter comes, we need to find a way — a diplomatic way — to sit down and talk,” Zelensky said.

He said progress depends on “pressure within his society, which, in my view, is growing, and the pressure of sanctions — not their lifting, but their tightening.” Zelensky warned against easing existing sanctions, arguing that such steps would only strengthen Moscow’s defense industry.

The Ukrainian president also expressed readiness for a direct meeting with Vladimir Putin. “I am ready to meet with Putin, if he is ready too,” he said on the program, according to the Ukrainian outlet NV. Zelensky backed a format in which the United States and Europe would jointly act as mediators in talks with Russia.

Waiting for American envoys

According to Reuters, US-mediated negotiations have stalled after Washington’s attention shifted to the conflict with Iran. American envoys Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner have visited Moscow on multiple occasions but have yet to visit Kyiv — a fact Zelensky previously described as “disrespectful.”

“I hope they will find an opportunity to come here within two weeks,” Zelensky said, noting that his negotiating team is in contact with both envoys and that they have expressed willingness to visit.

At the time the report was published, the visit to Kyiv had not taken place, despite discussions having been underway since early April.