In an interview with CBS's Face the Nation, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said Ukraine needs to find a diplomatic path to talks before winter, arguing that Russia began losing the battlefield initiative in December 2025, CBS reported on May 31. He also urged tougher sanctions on Moscow and said Ukraine needs U.S. support on air defense missiles until Europe can produce its own anti-ballistic system.

Kyiv believes it has a roughly six-month window to seize the initiative on the battlefield and strengthen its hand in any peace talks before winter limits battlefield options and exposes Ukraine's worsening air defense gap. U.S. President Donald Trump reportedly urged China's President Xi Jinping during his May visit to Beijing to help bring Russian President Vladimir Putin back to negotiations with Zelensky, but Taiwan, Iran, trade and investment took priority in the wider discussions.