Russia has been ‘influencing’ White House policy with propaganda about the Ukraine war, Volodymyr Zelensky claimed last night.
In an interview released as peace talks began, the Ukrainian president pointed to a ‘pattern’ of high-level officials in Donald Trump’s administration taking Vladimir Putin at his word – including claims that Kyiv did not want the war to end.
It came as a children’s hospital in the city of Sumy was hit by a Russian missile yesterday, leaving almost 90 people – including 17 children – injured.
Andrii Sybiha, Ukraine’s foreign minister, said last night that Russia ‘must stop bombing our cities and end its war on civilians’ instead of making ‘hollow statements about peace’.
President Trump has been pushing for a rapid end to the three-year war and hopes the latest round of talks at a luxury hotel in Saudi Arabia will pave the way for a breakthrough.
The talks have been split into two separate parts of the hotel in Riyadh,with US negotiators going back and forth between the Russian and Ukrainian delegations.
The meeting has been focused on agreeing an initial ceasefire in the Black Sea, with negotiators pushing for a resumption of the year-long agreement that had allowed millions of tons of grain and other food exports to be shipped from Ukraine’s ports.
‘The issue of the Black Sea Initiative and all aspects related to the renewal of this initiative is on the agenda,’ Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said. ‘This was President Trump’s proposal and President Putin agreed to it. It was with this mandate that our delegation travelled to Riyadh.’
Russia has been ‘influencing’ White House policy with propaganda about the Ukraine war, Volodymyr Zelensky (pictured) claimed last night
High-level officials in Donald Trump’s administration have been taking Vladimir Putin (pictured) at his word – including claims that Kyiv did not want the war to end, according to Zelensky
President Trump’s special envoy Steve Witkoff (pictured) said he expected ‘some real progress’ during the latest round of talks in Saudi Arabia
This handout photograph taken on March 24, 2025, shows Ukrainian rescuers working to extinguish a fire in a residential building following a missile attack in SumyÂ
But in his interview with Time magazine, Mr Zelensky said: ‘I believe Russia has managed to influence some people on the White House team through information. Their signal to the Americans was that the Ukrainians do not want to end the war, and something should be done to force them.’
Mr Zelensky also referenced his televised row with Mr Trump in the Oval Office last month, adding: ‘In that moment there was the sense of not being allies.’
Mr Trump’s special envoy Steve Witkoff said over the weekend that he expected ‘some real progress’ at the talks, and that a pause in hostilities in the Black Sea would ‘naturally gravitate into a full-on shooting ceasefire’.
However, Moscow has played down the possibility of a ceasefire moving quickly, with Mr Peskov saying many aspects of a deal are yet to be decided, while Moscow’s foreign ministry said current negotiations ‘should not be expected to produce a breakthrough’.
Downing Street has said Sir Keir Starmer is not concerned by Mr Witkoff dismissively labelling the PM’s plan for a ‘coalition of the willing’ – made up of European and Nato nations to maintain peace in Ukraine – a ‘combination of a posture and a pose’.