Zelensky Says Putin Keeps Finding Excuses to Continue the War

President Volodymyr Zelensky said on Saturday that Russia shows no sign of preparing to end its war, accusing Russian President Vladimir Putin of repeatedly inventing reasons to avoid negotiations. Zelensky made the remarks on Sept. 26, after a wave of Russian strikes that Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha said had killed at least 10 people across Ukraine since Friday, including a child.JOIN US ON TELEGRAMFollow our coverage of the war on the @Kyivpost_official. “Putin always finds some lame excuse – not to meet, not to hold a trilateral, not to talk, not to end it, not to stop the killing,” Zelensky said, adding that Putin’s approach had not changed in years, and that Ukraine’s partners recognized the pattern as well. “He is looking for excuses to keep waging the war,” he continued. Throughout the five years of the war, Ukrainian authorities have repeatedly pushed for a direct meeting with Putin. So far, the Kremlin has rebuffed every proposal. Diplomacy repeatedly stalled According to Zelensky, his recent meeting with US President Donald Trump confirmed that Washington shares Kyiv’s assessment. “America sees the situation the same way,” he said, noting that the goal was to change Moscow’s calculations so that it chooses to stop fighting. “Russia must develop a desire to spend money not on death, but on something else – they must develop a desire to end this war,” he said. He added that Ukraine was working toward that goal with the US, Europe, Canada, Japan and other partners. Other Topics of Interest US-China: Carving up the World Geopolitically speaking, the UN has become irrelevant and was overshadowed by a more consequential gathering that took place this week. In the upcoming days, Zelensky said he expects intense diplomatic activity aimed at changing the course of the war. He also called for the Lindsey Graham Act, Russia sanctions legislation named after the US senator, and other pressure mechanisms to “work even harder.” Speaking at the 81st United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) on Tuesday, Sept. 22, before a scheduled meeting with Zelensky, Trump warned that Washington was prepared to use newly granted legislative powers to impose tariffs of up to 100% on Russian energy buyers. When asked by a reporter what message he had for Putin, he simply said: “Settle the war.” Zelensky also called for the Lindsey O. Graham Sanctioning Russia and Iran Act, which Trump signed into law on Sept. 18, to be used more forcefully. Having the tool, however, does not guarantee Trump will use it. Sanctioning China – the biggest buyer of Russian crude – could undermine the trade stability Washington has sought to preserve during Chinese President Xi Jinping’s visit to Washington this week. Sybiha condemned the Russian barrage that continued throughout the day, killing and injuring civilians in several regions. On Friday, Russian strikes killed at least four people and injured 47 in Kyiv. On Saturday, at least two people were killed in Sumy, two in Zaporizhzhia and two in the Dnipropetrovsk region, including a child, while dozens more were injured across Ukraine nationwide. According to the FM, Russian forces struck a kindergarten in Kyiv, a lyceum in the Kyiv region and a university in Kharkiv over the past 24 hours. Residential buildings and energy infrastructure in the Poltava, Mykolaiv and Vinnytsia regions were also hit. “There is a clear pattern – these are civilian sites. Places where people live, study, work, and bring their children,” Sybiha said. He noted that air-raid alerts in Ukraine often barely end before the next attack begins, and urged Kyiv’s Western allies not to lose sight of what daily life under Russian bombardment looks like. “Russia’s escalation is not something that happens occasionally between rounds of diplomacy. It is happening every day, with attacks becoming increasingly brutal and civilians paying the price,” he said. Sybiha warned that the world must not grow numb to the attacks or treat images of destruction as routine news. He called for every strike to be met with action and accountability, including more missile interceptors for Ukraine, tougher sanctions on those enabling Russia’s attacks and greater pressure on Moscow. “Russia is testing how much violence the world will tolerate,” Sybiha said. “The answer must be clear: escalation will bring greater pressure, greater support for Ukraine, and a higher price for the aggressor.” He said a firm response was the only way to keep Russia’s war from spreading further. Fifty-one countries backed Ukraine in a joint statement on Wednesday, urging the Kremlin to agree to a full ceasefire and enter meaningful negotiations on Wednesday, Sept. 23. Around the same time, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said that the Kremlin will not pause its “special military operation” even during negotiations. His remarks came as Washington recently stepped up its efforts to broker an end to the war, while Ukraine’s Western allies are increasingly preparing for a possible Russian escalation on NATO territory. Kyiv Post is Ukraine’s first and oldest English news organization, reporting since 1995. Its international reach – 97% of readers are outside of Ukraine – make it truly Ukraine’s global voice.