Ukraine ceasefire talks may hinge on drone pressure, negotiator says
Sergiy Kyslytsya told NPR that long-range strikes inside Russia have improved Ukraine’s position and could push Putin toward talks.
By Daniel Okafor · Business Editor
3 min read
A senior Ukrainian official says Ukraine ceasefire talks may be shaped by Kyiv’s growing use of long-range drone strikes inside Russia. Sergiy Kyslytsya, one of Ukraine’s top peace negotiators, told NPR that attacks on Russian oil and gas sites have strengthened Ukraine’s bargaining position and could push Russian President Vladimir Putin toward a deal.
Kyslytsya, who has served on Ukraine’s negotiating team since 2025, is also the first deputy head of President Volodymyr Zelenskyy’s office, according to NPR. He previously represented Ukraine at the United Nations and was in New York on Feb. 24, 2022, when Russia began its full-scale invasion.
Official diplomatic relations between Ukraine and Russia were cut after the invasion, NPR reported. Kyslytsya said his time at the U.N., where he regularly sat in the same room as Russian diplomats, helped prepare him for negotiations.
Could Ukraine drone strikes force a ceasefire?
Kyslytsya told NPR that long-range strikes have changed the pressure on Moscow by hitting Russian energy facilities and contributing to fuel shortages in Russia. NPR reported that Ukraine’s drones are regularly striking Russian oil and gas infrastructure, which Kyslytsya argues weakens Russia’s capacity to continue the war.
A ceasefire would be a stop in fighting, usually without settling all political claims behind a war. Kyslytsya’s argument is that battlefield deadlock, combined with strikes far beyond the front, could make continued fighting less attractive for the Kremlin.
According to NPR, the last U.S.-brokered peace talks between Ukraine and Russia took place in Geneva in February. Kyslytsya said that has not ended contact, saying Ukraine remains in active communication with U.S. officials and occasionally with Russian representatives.
Kyslytsya said Ukraine’s basic position has not changed: the fastest way to stop the war is for the sides to remain where they are now. He also told NPR that the Kremlin continues to press demands Ukraine considers unrealistic, including calls for Kyiv to give up territory that Russia does not occupy.
He described the ground war as largely stalled and said Russian forces are not making meaningful advances. Kyslytsya said that view has become clear not only to Ukrainians but also to Ukraine’s partners and the United States, NPR reported.
NPR noted that President Trump recently said Ukraine was “flexing its muscle.” The report also said Zelenskyy has proposed direct talks with Putin, which Kyslytsya called essential and said could happen later this year.
Putin said last month that he saw no point in meeting, according to NPR. Kyslytsya said continued Ukrainian long-range strikes could leave the Russian leader with one practical choice: sit down and discuss how to stop the war.
This story draws on original reporting from NPR.