Zelenskyy tells CNN Iran talks must not delay ending war in Ukraine

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said in comments to CNN on Wednesday that he remains open to a ceasefire with Russia, but sees no progress in talks on Ukraine while the issue of Iran remains unresolved or until some fundamental ceasefire is reached between the United States, Israel and Iran.

He acknowledged that the war in Iran had distracted attention from Russia's aggression against Ukraine, telling CNN that it was "a big risk" to think that efforts to stop the fighting in Ukraine could not resume until the conflict in Iran was over.

Zelenskyy also said that although technical talks with the United States were still continuing, he did "not see the possibility of a meeting… until the issue, the Iran matter, is closed."

The Ukrainian president described it as "a challenge" that the same team of U.S. negotiators - led by Steven Witkoff and U.S. President Donald Trump's son-in-law Jared Kushner – is handling talks both on the war in Iran and on Ukraine. He said that while he understood the United States was now focused on the war against Iran, it was important not to forget Ukraine, where fighting continues.

According to Zelenskyy, the issue of ending the war in Ukraine cannot be postponed until "a little later."

"Ukraine is not 'a little later.' Ukraine is already in such a big tragedy, we have to find a way to manage this in parallel way," he said.

Zelenskyy also said the war in Iran had disrupted deliveries of some key types of weapons for Ukraine, especially missile defense systems, which, he said, Ukraine is not receiving in sufficient quantities because of limited production capacity in the United States.

He also said Ukraine is trying to produce as many weapons as possible and gave the example of interceptor drones, of which Ukraine is now producing about 1,000 units a day, although it has the capacity to produce 2,000 a day.

"But we don't have the funding. It's really a question of our life, of surviving, for defending, we need this money very much," Zelenskyy said.