Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky told ambassadors in Kyiv on Monday that his government will work intensively to achieve peace this autumn, combining long-range drone strikes, sanctions and diplomatic efforts. A 40-day phase of intelligence operations designed to push Moscow toward negotiations is set to expire Tuesday, during which Ukraine repeatedly struck facilities belonging to Wildberries, Russia's largest online retailer.
Zelensky accused Russian President Vladimir Putin of stalling peace talks while preparing a new mobilisation wave that experts anticipate could follow Russia's mid-September parliamentary elections. He instructed diplomats to secure weapons and technical support from foreign partners, citing joint development of the Freyja missile defence system with European allies and renewed appeals for Patriot missiles.
In a separate diplomatic shake-up, Zelensky dismissed Olha Stefanishyna as ambassador to the United States, part of a broader cabinet reshuffle that began in mid-July. Both Stefanishyna and outgoing Prime Minister Yulia Svyrydenko had maintained strong ties with US President Donald Trump's administration, which recently pledged then questioned a licence for Ukraine to produce Patriot missiles.