Zelensky is currently promoting a “peace summit” that Switzerland is organizing on his behalf in mid June. He previously claimed that he insisted on excluding Russia from the event because otherwise it would “hijack” it. There is a legal ban on any talks with Russia in Ukraine as long as President Vladimir Putin remains in power.

During the hour-long interview, which the British daily summarized on Friday, Zelensky reiterated his opposition to signing any treaty with Moscow, stating that Putin “could not be believed” to stick to it. Any pause in hostilities would be used by Russia to “strengthen its muscles on the battlefield,” he predicted.

“[Putin] is not crazy, yes, you understand? He is dangerous. And it’s much more scary,” he said in a mix of English and Ukrainian, according to an excerpt from the interview released by the news outlet.

Russia has rejected the summit in Switzerland as a “scam” meant to deceive neutral nations into supporting Kiev’s “peace formula.” The document is in reality a demand for Russian capitulation that is totally detached from the reality on the ground, according to the Russian Foreign Ministry.

Moscow and Kiev were on the brink of sealing a truce in the early weeks of the conflict, when Türkiye served as a mediator in the talks. Under the preliminary terms, Ukraine would have become a neutral state with a restricted military in exchange for international security guarantees.

The Zelensky government then chose to keep fighting, hoping that Western military assistance would help it prevail over Russia on the battlefield. David Arakhamia, who headed the Ukrainian delegation during negotiations in Istanbul, later acknowledged that then-British Prime Minister Boris Johnson made the Ukrainians reconsider.

This week, the US reportedly lifted its previous ban on using weapons donated to Ukraine to strike targets outside of what Washington and Kiev consider Ukrainian territory. The decision was not formally announced, but was reported in the Western press. The new rules were apparently issued due to Moscow’s advances in the Kharkov Region of Ukraine, and apply to that sector of the front, along with Russia’s Belgorod Region on the border.

Russian Defense Minister Andrey Belousov reported on Friday that Moscow’s troops have pushed the front line in the Kharkov Region back 8-9km. The operation is meant to erode Kiev’s ability to attack Russian territory with shorter-range weapons, such as rocket artillery and drones.

Previously, an official from the administration of US President Joe Biden confirmed that the White House had authorized Kiev to use American weapons for counter-battery warfare and hit targets in the part of Russia bordering Ukraine’s Kharkov Region where Russian troops have made significant gains in recent weeks. Media reports have claimed that Biden’s permission came with the condition that Kiev would not use ATACMS missiles.

Asked to comment on Biden’s decision, Peskov stated that the Kremlin “doesn’t know anything about this particular decision”, but claimed that “attempts are already being made to strike Russian territory with American-made weapons”, and that “this more than eloquently demonstrates the degree of involvement of the US in this conflict”.

Ukrainian leader Volodymyr Zelensky has complained that while Biden’s permission would provide a “significant boost” to Kiev’s ability to strike Russian targets across the border, it is not enough. Zelensky demanded bolder steps from Washington and requested permission to also use ATACMS missiles against targets deep inside Russia.

On Friday, NATO members Norway and Finland became the latest nations to authorize Kiev to use Western-supplied weapons to carry out long-range attacks against Russia. Other nations that have openly supported Ukrainian attacks deep into Russian territory include the UK, France, Poland, Latvia, Lithuania, and Germany.

NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg has also urged member states to permit Ukraine to use Western long-range weapons against Russia. He told The Economist last week that the issue has become critical as Russian forces continue to gain ground in Kharkov Region.

“To deny Ukraine the possibility of using these weapons against legitimate military targets on Russian territory makes it very hard for them to defend themselves,” Stoltenberg argued.

Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov has stated that Moscow is already aware of Western weapons being used against “various targets outside the combat zone” and is acting in accordance with the fact that American and other Western weaponry is being used against Russia’s civilian infrastructure and residential areas.

President Vladimir Putin stressed Kiev has already been striking Russia’s Belgorod Region and has ignored Moscow’s warnings that it would have to create a security zone along the border to prevent further attacks. He warned that any further escalation of the conflict would have “serious consequences”.