On Wednesday, Russia launched a widespread assault across Ukraine, hitting vital power plants and a kindergarten, resulting in six fatalities. This intense barrage occurred mere hours after President Trump announced the postponement of a planned meeting with Russian President Vladimir V. Putin, citing a desire to avoid a ‘wasted’ effort in ending the conflict.
Last week, Mr. Trump had indicated a forthcoming meeting with Mr. Putin in Hungary to further peace negotiations. However, following recent discussions between American and Russian officials, the White House confirmed on Tuesday that no summit would take place ‘in the immediate future.’
The Trump administration’s decision to delay came after Russian officials firmly reiterated their uncompromising demands for an end to the invasion of Ukraine. They once again rejected a proposed cease-fire that would solidify the current front lines.
Disturbing video footage released by Ukrainian officials on social media Wednesday showed emergency personnel evacuating young children from a burning kindergarten in the northeastern city of Kharkiv. The attack on the facility tragically killed one person and left several others injured, according to officials.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky stated that the overnight assaults clearly indicated that ‘Russia doesn’t feel enough pressure to stop prolonging the war.’
The extensive Russian missile strikes triggered nationwide power restrictions for industrial users and emergency blackouts for civilians in several regions, including the capital, Kyiv. These attacks mirror a pattern of major Russian offensives launched after significant diplomatic engagements with the Trump administration. Additionally, the Kremlin confirmed that Russia conducted nuclear weapons drills on Wednesday, including test launches of intercontinental ballistic missiles.
Mr. Zelensky reiterated on Tuesday that Ukraine urgently requires more long-range weapons to effectively pressure Moscow into halting its invasion. Despite meeting with Mr. Trump at the White House on Friday, the Ukrainian leader concluded those challenging discussions without securing the American long-range missiles he sought.
While publicly endorsing Mr. Trump’s peace initiatives, Ukrainian officials have consistently maintained that Moscow will only cease its aggression if Kyiv possesses sufficient retaliatory capabilities.
Ukrainian analysts expressed optimism that Mr. Trump is beginning to understand Mr. Putin’s strategy of prolonging negotiations with high-profile meetings that consistently yield minimal results. Russian officials had initially welcomed the proposal for a Budapest summit after Mr. Trump’s call with Mr. Putin on Thursday, just a day before his meeting with Mr. Zelensky.
“Trump realized that this meeting would be a catastrophe, and he would gain nothing but shame,” commented Mykhailo Samus, director of the independent New Geopolitics Research Network in Kyiv. “But the question is, what is next? Will Putin be able to get him to such a meeting again?”
Mr. Samus further emphasized, “It is important for President Trump to understand that a Nobel Peace Prize is possible only by pressuring Putin, not by shouting at Zelensky.”
Mr. Trump has historically shown considerable deference to Mr. Putin, failing to act on threats to penalize Russia for its continued war. Despite warnings from the Kremlin, he has yet to provide American Tomahawk missiles to Kyiv.
However, seemingly emboldened by his role in brokering a cease-fire in Gaza and driven by his public ambition to win a Nobel Prize, Mr. Trump has renewed efforts to restart a Ukrainian peace process that had stalled following his Alaska meeting with Mr. Putin this past summer.
While Mr. Zelensky did not secure new weapons from his talks with Mr. Trump last week, he did gain continued U.S. backing for Kyiv’s territorial stance. Moscow has indicated its insistence on Ukraine surrendering the remaining Ukrainian-controlled parts of the eastern Donetsk region, a demand Kyiv unequivocally rejects.
Mr. Zelensky is scheduled to meet with European leaders in Denmark on Thursday to garner additional support from European nations. These countries have become the primary financial and military backers of Kyiv’s war effort since Mr. Trump ceased direct American aid. European leaders, in solidarity with Ukraine, advocate for an immediate cease-fire along the current battle lines.
Mr. Trump was also slated to meet with Mark Rutte, the secretary general of NATO, in Washington on Wednesday, with Ukraine expected to be a key topic of discussion.
According to Mr. Samus, the analyst, Russia’s primary objective in negotiations since the spring has been to delay any cease-fire and prevent the United States from supplying Ukraine with long-range weapons.
While Mr. Putin has largely achieved these goals thus far, Mr. Samus suggested that the postponed Budapest meeting indicates the Russian president’s tactic of repeated delays may be losing its effectiveness.
Mr. Zelensky himself highlighted Russia’s diplomatic maneuvering.
“Russia continues to do everything it can to weasel out of diplomacy,” he declared on Tuesday. “As soon as the issue of long-range capabilities for us, for Ukraine, became less immediate, Russia’s interest in diplomacy faded almost automatically.”