Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said the United States was increasingly acting as a party to the conflict rather than an impartial broker, following recent commitments by Group of Seven leaders to intensify economic pressure on Russia and expand support for Ukraine’s defense capabilities.

“As for the United States, judging by their actions, they appear to be abandoning any claim to the role of an objective mediator and are instead pursuing a course of escalating sanctions pressure on Russia,” Lavrov told foreign diplomats in Moscow.

The remarks come as U.S.-led diplomatic efforts to secure a negotiated settlement between Russia and Ukraine remain largely at a standstill. President Donald Trump, who returned to office in 2025 after pledging to swiftly end the conflict, has sought to encourage direct engagement between the two sides. However, negotiations have produced little tangible progress amid deep disagreements over territorial and security issues.

During a summit in France earlier this month, G7 leaders endorsed a joint statement reaffirming support for Ukraine and calling for stronger measures against Russia’s wartime economy. The communiqué included commitments to increase deliveries of air-defense equipment to Kyiv and tighten sanctions targeting Russian revenue streams, particularly in the energy sector.

Lavrov also criticized European governments for expanding military assistance to Ukraine, arguing that the continent was contributing to instability rather than promoting a diplomatic resolution.

“Europe is once again becoming a major threat to international peace and security,” Lavrov said, referring to ongoing military support provided by European allies to Kyiv.

The conflict, now in its fifth year, began with Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022 and remains Europe’s deadliest war since World War Two.

A central obstacle to negotiations remains Moscow’s demand that Ukraine withdraw its forces from parts of the eastern Donbas region still under Kyiv’s control as a prerequisite for broader peace talks. Ukrainian officials have repeatedly rejected the proposal, arguing that territorial concessions would encourage further Russian demands and undermine the country’s sovereignty.

With both sides maintaining positions that remain far apart, prospects for a breakthrough in negotiations appear limited despite continued diplomatic contacts and international mediation efforts.

Addressing EU leaders during a summit in Brussels, Zelensky said Ukraine’s resistance to Russia’s invasion was central to the continent’s future and that rapid integration into the European Union would provide the strongest long-term guarantee for European stability and security.

“The future of Europe — free, united and of course in peace — is being decided in our defense,” Zelensky said in excerpts of his remarks released on social media.

The Ukrainian leader acknowledged that support for an accelerated accession process was not unanimous among EU member states. Hungary, one of Kyiv’s most vocal critics within the bloc, opposed language endorsing a faster membership track and secured its removal from the European Council’s final statement.

“The most important such step — I know that not everyone loves this — could be a fast-track path for Ukraine to join the EU,” Zelensky said.

The European Council’s statement welcomed the launch of accession negotiations with Ukraine and said it looked forward to opening additional negotiating chapters under the bloc’s merit-based enlargement framework. However, it omitted any commitment to speeding up the process.

Hungarian Prime Minister Peter Magyar said on X that Budapest had succeeded in deleting references to accelerated accession from the summit conclusions.

“It wasn’t easy,” Magyar wrote.

The debate over Ukraine’s EU ambitions unfolded as Kyiv intensified its long-range military campaign against Russia. Earlier on Thursday, Ukrainian drones struck targets deep inside Russian territory, including an oil refinery in Moscow, in one of the latest attacks aimed at critical infrastructure.

Zelensky cited Ukraine’s ability to conduct long-range strikes as evidence of its military capabilities during meetings this week with U.S. President Donald Trump and other Group of Seven leaders in France.

In separate comments posted on Telegram, Zelensky reiterated Kyiv’s goal of ending the war before the end of 2026, while acknowledging the challenges of negotiating with Moscow.

“Of course, we want to end this war before winter — through diplomacy and by putting pressure on Russia. But we understand who we’re dealing with,” he said.

Referring to Russian President Vladimir Putin, Zelensky said Ukraine needed continued military and energy support should the conflict continue through another winter. He called for additional air-defense missiles, fuel supplies, energy equipment and a package of at least 300 missiles.

The Ukrainian president also urged European partners to strengthen financial support for Kyiv’s armed forces and called for the release of 6 billion euros from the European Peace Facility, an EU mechanism designed to support international security and defense efforts.

EU ambassadors agreed last week to advance membership negotiations with both Ukraine and Moldova, opening discussions on the first of six policy and legal clusters that candidate countries must complete before joining the bloc.

Ukraine’s latest drone attacks came amid escalating exchanges between Kyiv and Moscow. Ukrainian officials described the strike on Moscow’s refinery as retaliation for an attack that damaged a nearly 1,000-year-old monastery, an allegation Russia has denied.

Zelensky maintained that Ukraine remained open to direct talks with Putin but urged European governments to sustain sanctions pressure and financial assistance.

“Europe has to be engaged for us to have a strong position, to commit fully on sanctions without loopholes, on confiscation without exceptions and on funding Ukraine,” he said.

Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said after Thursday’s attacks that Moscow would continue carrying out what he described as massive coordinated strikes against Ukrainian targets on a regular basis.

Speaking to reporters during a visit to India, Rubio said the latest attacks underscored the urgency of finding a path toward ending the conflict, following a phone conversation with Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov.

“Every time you see these big strikes from one side or the other, it’s a reminder of why this is a terrible war,” Rubio said, adding that Washington remained willing to assist diplomatic efforts whenever an opportunity for progress emerged.

His remarks came after Russia launched a major attack on Kyiv and days after Moscow fired large numbers of drones and missiles at targets across Ukraine, attacks that Ukrainian authorities said killed at least four people over the weekend.

The renewed bombardment reflected a continuing escalation in hostilities as both sides intensify military operations more than four years after Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine.

Russia said on Monday it was prepared to carry out additional strikes against Kyiv, including what it described as the Ukrainian government’s “decision-making centers,” signaling that further attacks on the capital could follow.

The phone call between Rubio and Lavrov highlighted the limited but ongoing diplomatic contacts between the two countries. According to Russia’s foreign ministry, Lavrov urged the United States to remove diplomatic personnel from its embassy in Kyiv amid security concerns.

Rubio said Moscow had not singled out the United States and had instead issued a broader warning to foreign diplomatic missions operating in the Ukrainian capital.

“It was a notice sent to all the embassies,” Rubio told reporters.

The comments suggest Washington continues to balance support for Ukraine with efforts to preserve diplomatic communication with Moscow, even as prospects for a negotiated settlement remain uncertain and battlefield conditions continue to deteriorate.

The latest exchange between the two senior diplomats comes as the United States seeks to maintain engagement with both Kyiv and Moscow while monitoring the security risks posed by intensified Russian missile and drone attacks on Ukraine’s major cities.

In a telephone conversation, Lavrov stressed the importance of preventing a return to armed confrontation and reiterated that the conflict has no military solution, according to the ministry’s statement.

The call followed recent talks between the United States and Iran in Pakistan, which ended without agreement. Araqchi briefed Lavrov on the discussions, the ministry said, providing details of negotiations that failed to produce a settlement.

Russia has positioned itself as a potential mediator in the conflict, signaling willingness to engage diplomatically as tensions remain high despite a temporary ceasefire and ongoing international efforts to restart negotiations.

Qalibaf described the threats as “reckless” in a social media post, saying Washington would gain nothing through escalation and urging respect for Iran’s rights. Iran’s mission to the United Nations said the warnings amounted to “a direct and public incitement to terrorize civilians,” calling on the international community to intervene.

The statements came as Iran has effectively halted cargo traffic through the Strait of Hormuz during the conflict, a critical chokepoint for global oil and gas shipments. The disruption has contributed to rising energy prices and heightened volatility in international markets.

Russia also criticized Washington’s stance, urging a return to negotiations. The Russian foreign ministry, citing a call between Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov and his Iranian counterpart, said the United States should abandon “the language of ultimatums.”

Iranian officials signaled the crisis could widen beyond the Gulf. Ali Akbar Velayati, an adviser to Iran’s supreme leader, warned that allied groups could target the Bab el-Mandeb Strait at the southern entrance to the Red Sea, a route that typically handles around 12 percent of global trade.

Iran leads a network of allied groups across the region, including in Lebanon, Iraq and Yemen, where Houthi forces have previously attacked shipping lanes.Tehran has also introduced conditions for reopening the Strait of Hormuz.

Presidential spokesperson Seyyed Mohammad Mehdi Tabatabaei said transit could resume only if a portion of revenues is allocated to compensate Iran for war-related damages.Trump has said the United States would strike Iranian power plants and bridges if the strait is not reopened, setting a deadline that further escalated tensions.

In remarks reported over the weekend, he reiterated the threat of military action if maritime traffic remains blocked.Iran’s culture minister Sayed Reza Salihi-Amiri dismissed the warnings, describing Trump as inconsistent and saying Iranian society does not take his statements seriously.

The standoff underscores the strategic importance of maritime chokepoints in the Middle East and the potential for disruption to ripple through global energy markets and trade networks.