US President Donald Trump's special envoy for Ukraine, Keith Kellogg, has dismissed Russian claims that Washington is obstructing peace talks and called for an immediate ceasefire between Russia and Ukraine.
Responding to comments by Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov, who said the pace of negotiations depends on Kiev and Washington, Kellogg said such statements were "Orwellian" and "unfounded."
In a post on X, Kellogg said Trump has remained "consistent and adamant about making progress to end the war," and urged a move toward trilateral negotiations.
He added that Russia "cannot delay negotiations while simultaneously attacking Ukraine."
Ukraine’s presidential office chief, Andriy Yermak, also pushed back on Peskov’s remarks, calling them "manipulative" and asserting that Moscow remains "unprepared for peace."
The exchange follows recent rounds of peace talks hosted in Istanbul, with the latest meeting held on June 2.
Ground battles continue
Meanwhile, Russian forces continue to advance in eastern Ukraine, with Moscow’s state media reporting that troops had taken control of the village of Dachne, located just inside the Dnipropetrovsk region.
If confirmed, it would mark Russia’s first foothold in that region.
According to Russian-installed officials, Moscow’s forces now fully control Luhansk region and are making daily incremental gains in Donetsk, Zaporizhzhia and Sumy.
Ukraine has denied significant Russian advances in Dnipropetrovsk and other contested areas.
In Donetsk city — which Russia claims as its own — officials said Ukrainian missile strikes killed at least one person and damaged several buildings, including a market.
Despite claiming openness to peace talks, Russia insists that any agreement must involve Ukrainian withdrawal from four occupied regions it now claims as part of its territory — conditions Ukraine and its allies reject as a demand for surrender.
Russia currently controls more than 113,000 square kilometres of Ukrainian territory, including Crimea, which it annexed in 2014, and large portions of Luhansk, Donetsk, Zaporizhzhia and Kherson, as well as areas of Kharkiv, Sumy and Dnipropetrovsk.
