Russia says prospects for Ukraine peace deal now faded as its war rages on

 Russian official Sergey Ryabkov says ‘momentum generated’ from the Trump-Putin summit has ‘largely been undermined’.

Russia appears resigned to the collapse of peace efforts for the war it instigated, and prosecutes to this day, in Ukraine following President Vladimir Putin’s summit with his United States counterpart Donald Trump in Anchorage, Alaska, in August, saying whatever progress emerged from the historic meeting has all but unravelled.

Speaking to Russia’s federal assembly on Wednesday, Deputy Foreign Minister Sergey Ryabkov said, “Unfortunately, we must admit that the powerful momentum generated by Anchorage in favour of agreements … has largely been undermined.”

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Ryabkov blamed European countries for much of the impasse, accusing them of wanting to wage “a war to the last Ukrainian”, according to Russia’s state-owned TASS news agency.

His comments appeared to dash any faint hopes for a quick end to the war in Ukraine, now in its fourth year, whose rapid resolution Trump had made a key campaign promise.

Casting himself as a mediator, the US president made early overtures to Moscow and pressured Ukraine to make painful territorial concessions, once even berating its President Volodymyr Zelenskyy in the White House and accusing him of “gambling with World War III”.

Trump’s diplomatic push culminated in the historic Alaska summit, but it failed to produce a truce or meaningful compromises from Moscow.

Since then, the US president has grown weary of Putin’s reticence towards a deal, saying he is “very disappointed” with the Russian leader, who claims Moscow has captured 5,000 square kilometres (1930 square miles) in Ukraine in 2025 alone.

Trump has also appeared to do a U-turn on Ukraine, recently saying the country should try to “take back” all its occupied territory with Europe’s and NATO’s help.

As the Kremlin continues to attack civilian areas on a near-daily basis, Zelenskyy has reiterated that only increased punishing sanctions, including from the US, will rein Russia in. Trump has been reluctant to take that critical next step.

Last month, US Vice President JD Vance said Washington was considering sending long-range Tomahawk cruise missiles to Ukraine, a move Putin has warned would mean a “whole new level of escalation”.

On Wednesday, Ryabkov said sending Tomahawks to Ukraine would have “severe” consequences and urged Washington to reconsider the decision.

Ryabkov said US-Russian ties were “cracking” at their “foundation” – and “the Americans are to blame for this.”