The Kremlin has called out the US and Ukraine, for what looks like an emerging trend of Washington essentially dragging Zelensky by the ear toward a peace deal. Russia is saying that ultimately it cannot sign a deal with the United States - but that for the war to end, a legitimate settlement must be made bilaterally with Kiev.

Putin spokesman Dimitry Peskov said Wednesday that even though Russia welcomes the Trump administration's mediation efforts, the reality remains that "A peace deal should be done with the Ukraine, not with America."

"Unfortunately, we haven’t heard any statements in this context from Kiev, so we don’t know whether Kiev is ready or not," Peskov emphasized, strongly suggesting that the Ukrainian side isn't really seeking peace.

The Kremlin reiterated that currently contacts with Ukraine are only at the military level, to broker things like POW exchanges and returns of the wounded and deceased.

President Trump has of late been expressing frustration, somewhat lashing out at both sides - though he's seemed especially frustrated with Zelensky. Ukraine and the US were expected to finally sigh a minerals deal on Wednesday, but a "last minute hurdle" prevented that.

Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Mikhail Galuzin actually had harsher statements, filling in more details beyond Peskov's exchange with reporters.

"Not a single attempt to declare a ceasefire has in practice been supported by the Kiev regime, which continued to violate the truce. This shows that the regime is staking everything on war," Galuzin told Izvestia, adding: "moreover, Kiev’s self-imposed legislative ban on negotiations with Russia remains in effect."

And separately, Russian roving diplomat for the Donbass, Rodion Miroshnik, said "There is no basis to suggest that Ukraine is ready to alter its actions on the ground in any way. We do not see this happening. All we observe is erratic, pseudo-peacekeeping rhetoric. Hollow declarations of peace are not enough, we do not see any indication that Ukraine is demonstrating or confirming a willingness to pursue a ceasefire."

To review, Russia has this month put forth the following key demands to end the war:

The reality remains that neither Ukraine nor Washington seem any closer to accepting all of these terms, despite months of back-and-forth dialogue, and several rounds of US and Russian delegations meeting. Meanwhile, Zelensky has been coming under threat from some of his own commanders as they warn him not to give up territory to Russia for the sake of peace.