Russian President Vladimir Putin has lost his chance "to get out of his failed war" by refusing the offer for direct peace talks from Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, Ukraine's foreign minister said Saturday.
"Things will only get worse for Russia," Andrii Sybiha wrote on US social media company X.
According to him, the battlefield losses will continue to grow, underlining that "failures will get more humiliating" for Moscow.
"The economy will plunge deeper into recession. More jobs will be lost, taxes will be growing, and inflation will hit those most vulnerable," Sybiha said.
"There are already no safe places in Russia that can be exempt from Ukraine's long-range sanctions. But their intensity will continue to grow," he added.
The minister said that international pressure will not ease and "will only get stronger."
Sybiha stressed that Moscow will still have to accept a diplomatic solution, "but the terms will be far worse."
In an open letter on Thursday, Zelenskyy called for direct talks with Putin and said Ukraine was prepared to observe a ceasefire for the duration of negotiations, among other matters.
However, Putin said on Friday that he currently sees "no sense" in holding a meeting with Zelenskyy, arguing that direct meetings had failed to produce meaningful results in the past.
In reponse, Zelenskyy accused Putin of not seeking to end the ongoing war, saying he thinks many around the world were disappointed by Putin's response to his open letter.
