According to Yermak, the main topic of discussion was the most recent round of direct talks with Russia in Istanbul on June 2. Officials also reviewed the situation on the battlefield and discussed the prospects of even tougher economic sanctions against Moscow.
Yermak reiterated that Kyiv has taken every conceivable step towards a ceasefire, while Russia continues to effectively stall the peace process promoted by the United States.
“I said that Russia is doing everything to avoid a ceasefire,” he wrote in a Telegram post.
“That must come to an end by force because Ukraine has done everything to bring the war to a close. But if Russia does not stop firing voluntarily, we will have to conduct operations and destroy its military potential.”
The Ukrainian delegation in Washington is led by First Deputy PM and Economy Minister Yulia Svyrydenko.
On June 2, Ukrainian and Russian delegations held a second round of talks in Istanbul under Turkish mediation. The sides exchanged documents outlining their views on how to end the war. Moscow’s proposal rests on the same set of unacceptable demands held up by the Kremlin since 2022, such as compelling Kyiv withdraw its troops from the entirety of Donetsk, Luhansk, Kherson, and Zaporizhzhya oblasts. Officials said both teams will review the proposals over the next week.
The parties agreed on another prisoner exchange, including the critically injured, the gravely ill, and young soldiers under age 25. They also arranged to return 6,000 bodies of fallen troops.
Once again, Russia refused Ukraine’s proposal for an unconditional ceasefire. Instead, the Kremlin suggested a two- to three-day ceasefire to allow the recovery of bodies of fallen soldiers from the battlefield.