When the summit between White House chief of staff Donald Trump and Volodymyr Zelensky ended early Monday morning in the US capital, Washington, D.C., many optimistically expected that Russian dictator Vladimir Putin would soon join them.
But it seems that the expected Zelensky-Putin summit is still out of sight.
We bring questions and answers about why Russia is blocking Trump and Zelensky's peace initiatives and what the two opposing sides are actually asking for.
How did Moscow react after Zelensky's meeting with Trump?
Moscow has launched one of the most massive waves of attacks in Ukraine in recent weeks.
The Russian military has launched hundreds of drones and dozens of missiles, according to Kiev, and the strikes have also hit western Ukraine, which had been relatively safe until now. The most notable attack was on an American factory in the city of Mukachevo, where explosions injured more than 15 people and damaged residential buildings and a school. A residential area in Lviv was hit, killing one person.
Kiev says the attacks are proof that the Kremlin is not really interested in peace but is escalating war. Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said at the same time that no meeting between Presidents Vladimir Putin and Volodymyr Zelensky is planned.