The Guardian view on Ukraine and the prospects of peace: time to ramp up the pressure on Putin | Editorial

Russia’s ‘spring offensive’ is failing and Kyiv’s drones have brought the war to Moscow and other cities. Europe must strengthen Zelenskyy’s hand further Last week, Vladimir Putin responded with characteristic disdain to an open letter from Volodymyr Zelenskyy calling for face-to-face talks. Declining to mention Ukraine’s president by name at an economic forum in St Petersburg, he said that he saw “no point” in a meeting and insisted that all Russia’s war aims, including the annexation of the entirety of the eastern Donbas region, were on course to be met. Mr Putin is “in blood stepped in so far” that agreeing to a ceasefire while those messianic goals remain unachieved may seem more politically dangerous than continuing a war which has cost an estimated 500,000 Russian lives. But as a concerted Ukrainian drone attack on St Petersburg the next day vividly illustrated, his confident assertions are increasingly belied by facts on the ground and in the air. The attack, in which arsenals and a naval base were hit and the city’s population ordered to stay indoors, was the second in a week and showcased Ukraine’s prowess in developing drone technology. Other vital ports have been success