Kremlin says Ukraine peace talks paused

The Kremlin said on Monday that talks on ending the war in Ukraine were paused, even as Moscow said it expected contacts to resume after the latest military escalation. Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov made the comment after President Donald Trump said a Russian missile strike on a Kyiv apartment building had delayed efforts to reach a settlement. The latest exchange came after Ukraine launched what Moscow described as its biggest drone attack in more than a year around the Russian capital over the weekend. A U.N.-focused briefing published on May 19 said U.S.-brokered talks between Russia and Ukraine remained stalled, though bilateral contacts with Washington were continuing. ### Why did the Kremlin say the talks were paused? Dmitry Peskov said on Monday that the peace process was “on pause,” according to NBC’s report of his remarks. He linked the setback to continued Ukrainian strikes on what he described as civilian targets in Russia, and said those attacks had affected the atmosphere around negotiations. (nbcnews.com) Trump said on Friday that a Russian missile strike on a Kyiv apartment building that killed 24 people, including three children, had delayed efforts to end the war. Peskov, responding to those comments, said attention should also be paid to Ukrainian attacks inside Russia. ### What attack is Moscow pointing to? (nbcnews.com) Moscow said it faced its biggest drone attack in over a year at the weekend, with at least three people killed in the wider region around the Russian capital, NBC reported. The Kremlin cited that assault as evidence that conditions for talks had worsened in recent days. (nbcnews.com) The exchange underscored that diplomacy and military escalation are continuing at the same time. NBC reported that Russia and Ukraine had kept up attacks even as Washington tried to push both sides toward a deal. ### Are U.S.-brokered talks still active? The Security Council Report said on May 19 that U.S.-brokered talks between Ukraine and Russia remained stalled. (nbcnews.com) The report attributed the impasse to the U.S.-Israeli war with Iran and the recent escalation in and around the Strait of Hormuz. The same briefing said bilateral contacts between the United States and both sides had nevertheless continued. (nbcnews.com) It said Ukraine’s lead negotiator, Rustem Umerov, arrived in Miami on May 8 for meetings with U.S. Special Presidential Envoy for Ukraine Keith Kellogg and U.S. Special Envoy Steve Witkoff. ### What has the United Nations said about the diplomacy? (securitycouncilreport.org) U.N. Secretary-General António Guterres welcomed an earlier three-day ceasefire announcement and a planned large-scale prisoner exchange, according to the Security Council Report. The briefing said he also reiterated his call for an immediate, full, unconditional and lasting ceasefire. (securitycouncilreport.org) The same report said the truce was marked by mutual accusations of violations. That left the U.N. discussion on Tuesday focused on a war in which formal diplomacy has not stopped, but has not produced a settlement either. ### What comes next in the process? The U.N. Security Council was scheduled to hold a briefing on Ukraine on May 19, according to the Security Council Report. (securitycouncilreport.org) The briefing said U.S. contacts with both Moscow and Kyiv were still continuing, with Rustem Umerov, Keith Kellogg and Steve Witkoff among the named participants in recent talks.