Russian President Vladimir Putin will drag out a deal for a ceasefire because he is not interested in peace, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy warned Thursday night, while President Donald Trump remained optimistic about the progress of the discussions. 

The Ukrainian president, during his evening address to Ukrainians, said that Putin’s response to the ceasefire proposal was “very predictable,” reports The New York Times Friday. 

He added that Putin has demanded so many preconditions that “nothing will work out at all, or that it will not work out for as long as possible.”

Read more at Newsmax© 2025 Newsmax. All rights reserved.