Ukraine peace talks: Kyiv negotiator says drone strikes add leverage
Sergiy Kyslytsya told NPR that Ukraine sees new leverage over Russia as long-range strikes hit energy facilities.
By Sofia Marchetti · World Affairs Correspondent
3 min read
Ukraine peace talks have not produced a ceasefire, but one of Kyiv’s senior negotiators told NPR that Russia is losing room to keep the war going on its terms. Sergiy Kyslytsya, first deputy head of President Volodymyr Zelenskyy’s office, said Ukraine believes long-range drone attacks and stalled Russian advances have shifted leverage toward Kyiv.
Kyslytsya has been a key member of Ukraine’s negotiating team since 2025, NPR reported. He previously served as Ukraine’s ambassador to the United Nations, where he was one of the few Ukrainian diplomats still dealing directly with a Russian counterpart after Moscow’s full-scale invasion began on Feb. 24, 2022.
Official U.S.-mediated negotiations have been stalled since early this year as the Trump administration has focused on the U.S. war on Iran, according to NPR. Kyslytsya said contacts continue with American officials and, at times, Russian envoys, describing the channel as active.
What is Ukraine seeking in peace talks?
Kyslytsya told NPR that Kyiv’s position is to stop the fighting along the current front line. He said such a freeze would not mean Ukraine legally or practically accepts Russian control over occupied Ukrainian territory.
That position clashes with what Kyslytsya described as Russia’s continuing territorial demands. He pointed to a proposal Russian officials have called the “3+2” plan, or “Anchorage formula,” linked to an August 2025 Alaska summit between President Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin.
Under that proposal, Kyslytsya said, Moscow sought recognition of its claims to five Ukrainian regions, including three it fully occupies and two it partly occupies. U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio said the proposal failed because Ukraine rejected it, and said he wanted any settlement to be acceptable to both sides.
Kyslytsya said Russia remains focused on taking the rest of the Donetsk region. He told NPR that Russian officials have been telling Americans they can seize the remaining 15% to 20% of the region within two or three months.
Why does Kyiv say it has more leverage now?
Kyslytsya argued that the war is no longer defined mainly by infantry and artillery. He said Ukraine’s long-range drones are repeatedly striking Russian oil and gas sites, causing fuel shortages and weakening the Kremlin’s ability to sustain the invasion.
He also said the Russian military is no longer making meaningful gains on the battlefield, a view he told NPR has become clear to Ukraine’s partners, including the United States. President Trump praised Ukrainian troops at a NATO summit in Ankara last month, according to NPR.
Zelenskyy sent Putin an open letter in June proposing direct talks between the two leaders. Kyslytsya told NPR he believes such a meeting could still take place later this year and produce a major breakthrough.
Putin said last month that he saw no point in meeting Zelenskyy, NPR reported. Kyslytsya said that could change if Ukraine keeps striking at long range, arguing that Putin may eventually have to discuss how to end the war.
This story draws on original reporting from NPR.