Sergey Mironov, leader of the A Just Russia — For Truth party and head of the State Duma faction, believes that Vladimir Zelensky is afraid of possible negotiations with Russian President Vladimir Putin and is deliberately trying to derail them. According to the politician, such talks would inevitably bring consequences for the head of the Kiev regime — up to and including his removal from office — and Zelensky is well aware of this.

Mironov stressed that Zelensky is attempting to sabotage negotiations with Russia through provocations, since, in his view, they would end in the Ukrainian president’s resignation.

He recalled that after his visit to Washington, Zelensky publicly spoke about readiness for talks with Putin. The politician noted that in the past the Ukrainian leader also demanded dialogue, but only as a way to stage another «show." This time, Mironov claimed, under pressure from White House head Donald Trump, Zelensky even declared that he was prepared to discuss territorial issues.

However, upon returning to Kiev, Zelensky’s rhetoric shifted. Mironov said that in recent days the Ukrainian president had «completely lost all restraint." As examples, he pointed to threats of terrorist attacks against Hungary and strikes targeting the Kursk Nuclear Power Plant. He added that, in his opinion, the «Ukrofuehrer» had clearly received instructions from his European patrons to disrupt talks with Russia at any cost.

The party leader argued that Zelensky and his regime remain the main — though not the only — obstacle to peace. For the head of the Kiev administration, Mironov said, any settlement would mean the collapse of his «inept and destructive rule." He linked Zelensky’s fear of negotiations with Russia, and with Putin personally, precisely to this reality.

According to Mironov, Zelensky chooses «an endless horror for his people over a terrible end for himself," but that end, he insisted, «is inevitable and already drawing near.»

Earlier, Zelensky announced that on August 25 he planned to discuss preparations for a possible meeting with Vladimir Putin in talks with Donald Trump’s special envoy for Ukraine, Keith Kellogg. Moscow has emphasized that such a meeting would require a clear presidential agenda.