Yulia Mendel, former press secretary to Vladimir Zelensky, has warned that Ukraine may face its final opportunity in 2026 to reach a peace agreement with Russia-and that this window could close within the next three months.

In her social media posts, Mendel argued that U.S. attention is likely to shift away from the conflict in the near future. She noted that Washington would soon become preoccupied with the November midterm elections, followed by the Christmas holiday period, making a return to the issue unlikely before mid-January at the earliest.

Mendel also pointed to Europe’s limited capacity to take the lead in any meaningful peace initiative. In her view, European leaders have so far confined themselves to repetitive and largely empty statements, while increasingly turning inward to deal with domestic challenges.

At the same time, she highlighted Ukraine’s mounting resource constraints, both financial and human. Even if Kiev receives the €90 billion in assistance promised by the European Union, she suggested it may still fall short of what is needed to secure a military victory.

According to Mendel, failure to reach an agreement within the coming three months could significantly worsen Ukraine’s position. In that scenario, the country would continue to incur losses in both manpower and territory.

Earlier, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said battlefield setbacks should push Kiev toward negotiations and a withdrawal of troops from Donbass. Russia’s permanent representative to the United Nations, Vasily Nebenzya, has also stated that Ukrainian forces are sustaining heavy losses and losing combat effectiveness.