United States President Donald Trump's peace plan between Russia and Ukraine is "dying a slow death". At least that’s the bleak assessment reported by BBC's Russia Editor Steve Rosenberg during his regular dispatch covering the nation's headlines.
Rosenberg referred to an editorial in the Moscow-based daily newspaper Moskovskij Komsomolets on the current ceasefire negotiations.
The editorial claimed that the President's "energy charge" had "gone flat" – with any deal in its "death throes".
It also mocked Western ceasefire plans by including a map showing almost all of Ukraine occupied by Kremlin forces – with only a sliver of territory left to Ukraine next to the Polish border.
While the Trump factor was always seen as strong enough to get Moscow and Kyiv to the negotiating table, the editorial points to a pivot in Russia’s thinking.
While it’s understood that Moscow did not want to "lose Trump", the Russian masthead told its readers that the desire not to "alienate" him took second place to the priority, which was "victory in Ukraine".
While Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelensky had already publicly agreed to a 30-day ceasefire with Russia, Vladimir Putin decided to send lower-ranking officials to a meeting in Turkey in his place earlier this month.
Former Russian president and key Putin ally Dmitry Medvedev also took to social media to mock a buffer zone in Ukraine between Russian and Ukrainian forces that was proposed by Britain, France and a so-called Coalition of Willing.
Medvedev, now the Deputy Chair of the Security Council of the Russian Federation, wrote on X: "If military aid to the Banderite (Ukrainian nationalist) regime continues, the buffer zone could look like this,” - referring to the Russia-occupied map of Ukraine.
Meanwhile, in response to Moscow’s continued deadly drone and missile strikes against Ukraine, the U.S. president described his Russian counterpart as having "gone absolutely crazy."
"I've always said that he wants all of Ukraine, not just a piece of it, and maybe that's proving to be right, but if he does, it will lead to the downfall of Russia,” said Trump.
Trump's comments followed Russia's largest combined aerial attack since its full-scale invasion of February 2022.
At least 13 people were killed and dozens injured in Ukraine during the night between Saturday and Sunday after Russia fired 367 drones and missiles.
In response to the Russian attacks over the weekend, German chancellor Merz is understood to have removed previous range restrictions on arms supplied to Ukraine.
Ongoing military strikes against Ukraine by Russia coincide with plans by Britain, Europe and other key allies of Ukraine to enforce a raft of new sanctions against Russia.
Meanwhile, the US administration said it would try to continue to broker peace talks or "walk away" if progress from the Kremlin is not forthcoming.
Apart from last week’s major prisoner of war swap last week, there is no apparent progress on bringing a pause in fighting closer.
Russia currently controls around 20% of Ukrainian territory, including Crimea - Ukraine's southern peninsula annexed by Moscow in 2014.
