内容摘要：AP correspondent Julie Walker reports on a tugboat powered by ammonia.

AP correspondent Julie Walker reports on a tugboat powered by ammonia.

All along, Zelenskyy’s message, directed at the Trump administration, has been: The Russian leader cannot be trusted.It’s a rhetorical game of pingpong in which both Kyiv and Moscow try to outmaneuver the other vis-à-vis the U.S. But the political theatrics are underscored by

. In this war of attrition against Russia’s invasion, Ukraine’s position is poised to grow weaker as time goes on, unless powerful sanctions are imposed against Moscow and the U.S. continues arms deliveries.“He is in a difficult situation because behind him is a whole nation of people who are suffering,” said Oleksandr Merezkho, a lawmaker in Zelenskyy’s party. “We are playing (along), we are trying to do everything we can because we don’t want to lose the support of the U.S. We don’t want to be accused that it was our fault.”Putin’s no-show did not result in a strong reaction from Trump, which frustrated Ukrainian officials.

“It looks surreal, weird when Ukraine is complying to everything required from us, and Putin ignores, rejects,” said Merezhko. “It looks very imbalanced, it looks unfair for Ukraine.”Since March, Zelenskyy has made a point of showing Ukraine’s willingness to acquiesce to U.S. demands to avoid alienating Trump, his most powerful ally.

Kyiv hoped Russia’s unwillingness to do the same would, in time, provoke the U.S. to unleash powerful sanctions and cripple Moscow’s war machine — the most likely scenario in which Ukraine can hope to weaken Russia and negotiate an advantageous peace deal, analysts said.

Russia’s position has remained mostly consistent. The Kremlin kept repeating that it was ready for peace talks with Ukraine — while making demands that were politically untenable for Zelenskyy, and would require Ukraine to make territorial concessions, neutralize its army and vow never to join NATO.A man walks by abandoned houses in Chanaute Market, Melamchi, northeast of Kathmandu, Nepal, Sunday, Sept. 15, 2024, damaged by floods in 2021. (AP Photo/Niranjan Shrestha)

A man walks by abandoned houses in Chanaute Market, Melamchi, northeast of Kathmandu, Nepal, Sunday, Sept. 15, 2024, damaged by floods in 2021. (AP Photo/Niranjan Shrestha)The sand-filled entrance of a house is visible in Chanaute Market, Melamchi, northeast of Kathmandu, Nepal, Sunday, Sept. 15, 2024, that was damaged by floods in 2021. (AP Photo/Niranjan Shrestha)

The sand-filled entrance of a house is visible in Chanaute Market, Melamchi, northeast of Kathmandu, Nepal, Sunday, Sept. 15, 2024, that was damaged by floods in 2021. (AP Photo/Niranjan Shrestha)Abandoned houses are visible in Chanaute Market, northeast of Kathmandu, Nepal, Sunday, Sept. 15, 2024. (AP Photo/Niranjan Shrestha)