Kremlin Blocks Putin-Zelensky Summit Amid Escalation

The Kremlin has firmly ruled out a summit between Russian President Vladimir Putin and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky before a draft peace deal is reached, despite Zelensky's calls to accelerate stalled negotiations. Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov reiterated that the two sides remain diametrically opposed, making a summit within the next 30 days highly unlikely. This deadlock undermines prospects for meeting U.S. President Donald Trump's 50-day peace deadline, after which the U.S. has threatened severe new sanctions on Russia. Meanwhile, Ukraine faces intensifying Russian attacks on civilian areas, worsening the humanitarian crisis. Recent negotiations in Turkey have led to minor progress, such as prisoner exchanges, but failed to achieve a ceasefire. The ongoing impasse raises concerns that Russia may use the delay to increase military and diplomatic pressure on Ukraine.