Despite calls from the U.S. and Ukraine for meaningful ceasefire talks, Russia has reportedly amassed approximately 50,000 troops along Ukraine’s northern border.

Ukraine’s president warned Wednesday of a potential large-scale Russian offensive this summer aimed at dislodging Ukrainian forces from Russia’s Kursk region and launching a new invasion into Ukraine’s Sumy region, located about 200 miles from Kyiv.

Zelenskyy has reiterated his willingness to engage in direct negotiations with Putin, suggesting a trilateral meeting with the U.S. president if Putin prefers.

Trump stated on Wednesday that he would meet with them “if necessary,” but the Kremlin has repeatedly rejected the idea.

The U.S. president expressed “disappointment” with Russia’s continued attacks on Ukraine during negotiation attempts but has refrained from imposing further sanctions, stating he is “close to getting a deal” and doesn’t want to jeopardize it.

Heorhii Tykhyi, a spokesman for Ukraine’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs, stated in an online discussion on X, Thursday, that Russia has launched 120 missiles, over 1,500 Shahed drones, and over 2,500 guided bombs on Ukrainian cities since the start of .

The Sumy regional governor confirmed on Monday that Russian forces had taken control of near the Ukraine-Russia border. These settlements were previously evacuated and situated in a contested “gray zone” following Russia’s invasion in February 2022.

This troop movement coincides with Russia’s apparent intention to establish a roughly 6-mile wide “buffer zone,” a plan Moscow has reportedly pursued since 2024 but was hindered by Ukraine’s incursion into the Kursk region.

The implementation of a buffer zone on will likely serve as leverage in potential ceasefire negotiations. Kyiv claims Russia has not engaged in these negotiations in good faith, despite meetings between delegations from both sides in Istanbul earlier this month that failed to produce progress.

Russia suggested a second Istanbul meeting late on Wednesday, stating it would present its proposed ceasefire terms in a “memorandum.”

Ukraine has not yet accepted another meeting with Russia and stated on Thursday that Moscow “promised” to before any future talks.

“They are scared to share it because they filled the document with ultimatums and demands,” Tykhyi said Thursday. “They understand this document is needed not to advance the peace process but to stall.”

Tykhyi argued that if Russia has “nothing to hide” and the document is “workable,” there “should be no problem in sharing the document” to ensure the negotiating parties can achieve a “meaningful result.”

Ukraine has already presented its ceasefire terms.

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