Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said in an interview broadcast 24 Aug. that no meeting is currently scheduled between President Vladimir Putin and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy. Lavrov added that Putin is willing to meet once a detailed agenda is agreed but stressed that such groundwork “is not ready at all,” tempering expectations raised earlier this month when U.S. President Donald Trump claimed he was arranging a summit. German Chancellor Friedrich Merz echoed the assessment on 28 Aug., telling reporters after talks with French President Emmanuel Macron in southern France that it is “obvious” the leaders will not meet in the foreseeable future. Merz’s remarks publicly dismissed Trump’s earlier statements and underscored the lack of diplomatic momentum despite mounting international pressure for negotiations. The comments followed one of the heaviest Russian missile-and-drone barrages on Kyiv in recent weeks. Ukrainian officials said the overnight attack killed at least 19 people—some put the toll at 21—and injured dozens, including staff at a European Union office that sustained damage. Kyiv has requested an emergency meeting of the U.N. Security Council to address the escalation. The Kremlin left the door ajar on 29 Aug., with spokesman Dmitry Peskov saying Putin “does not rule out” a meeting but that significant preparatory work is still lacking. Until that groundwork is in place, both Moscow and Berlin indicate that a direct Putin-Zelenskyy summit remains unlikely.