Russian President Vladimir Putin has no intention of sitting down for peace talks now, and his willingness to negotiate will decline further as winter draws closer because he expects Ukraine will not survive the season, deputy head of Ukraine's President’s Office Sergiy Kyslytsya said.
Kyslytsya is a career diplomat and previously served as Kyiv’s permanent representative to the United Nations.
“Putin now has no desire to sit at the negotiating table, and after the start of winter and until its end — at least until mid‑March — he will have even less motivation,” he said in an interview with state news agency Ukrinform.
“He will think that Ukrainians are not strong enough as a nation to survive this winter.”
Kyslytsya said Kyiv will continue pursuing diplomatic paths to end the war and warned that halting diplomatic work would be a mistake because Russia is trying to spread the idea that Kyiv is not interested in peace.
He said Ukraine is telling partners it is ready for negotiations and dialogue with the United States and talks with Russia, but that any process must lead to an end to the war. He also noted the importance of an upcoming visit by U.S. negotiators Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner to Kyiv, which has been postponed several times.
