Ukraine's president expressed concern that a prolonged war in Iran would further benefit Russia, as all negotiations related to the Ukraine war have been postponed, and Russia has begun a new round of attacks.
On 22 Mar 2026 GMT+7, Volodymyr Zelensky, president of Ukraine, said he had a bad premonition about the impact the Middle East conflict would have on his country, as Russian forces began launching attacks during the spring in eastern Ukraine.
“You will see that our diplomatic meetings or trilateral talks are being continuously postponed, and there is only one reason: the war in Iran,” Zelensky told BBC on Sunday.
He added, “Putin wants the war to drag on. For Putin, a prolonged war in Iran is profitable,” due to rising oil prices and the suspension of some U.S. sanctions on Russian crude oil, which benefits Russia's economy.
Amid this situation, Russia is intensifying its attacks in eastern Ukraine. Oleksandr Syrskyi, Ukraine's top military commander, stated on Friday, “With changing weather, the Russian invaders have increased pressure across multiple sectors of the front line.”
Meanwhile, the Institute for the Study of War (ISW) in Washington noted, “This battalion-level assault is clearly larger than almost all of Russia’s armored advances in recent months.”
:cnn