Tokayev to Putin: The War Must Stop, Young People Are Dying
Kazakh President Publicly Urges Putin to Freeze the Conflict in Ukraine, as Kyiv Intensifies Drone Attacks Deep Inside Russia and Zelensky Warns of New Mobilization.
Kazakh President Publicly Urges Putin to Freeze the Conflict in Ukraine, as Kyiv Intensifies Drone Attacks Deep Inside Russia and Zelensky Warns of New Mobilization.
Kazakh President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev publicly called on Vladimir Putin to end the war in Ukraine, proposing a freeze of the conflict and a return to peace talks, while Ukraine on Saturday, July 25, 2026, launched more than 300 drones into Russian territory, hitting an oil refinery in Siberia's Tyumen region and a military factory in the Kirov region.
At the Russia-Kazakhstan forum in the Siberian city of Omsk, Tokayev sat next to Putin and in televised comments stated: "It's a pity, young people are dying... All this must stop." The Kazakh president proposed what he called the 'Istanbul formula 2.0,' referencing the peace talks from March 2022 that were held with Turkish mediation but failed due to mistrust, the revelation of war crimes in Bucha, and the lack of agreement on territorial and security issues. Tokayev suggested that the conflict be 'frozen' and that, with guarantees from major powers including Russia, movement toward a lasting peace could begin. According to Hindustan Times reporting, Putin is rarely publicly confronted by officials telling him that the fighting should stop. He responded that he would brief Tokayev on the 'details' of the war.
While peace talks were underway in Omsk, blood was being shed on the front line and beyond. Russian authorities administering occupied parts of Ukraine reported that a Ukrainian attack on Kyrylivka, a resort on the Sea of Azov, killed 12 people, including four children, with eight others listed as missing. The Kremlin-backed head of the occupied part of the Zaporizhzhia region, Yevgeny Balitsky, stated that rescue workers were still on the scene. Kyiv had not commented on the attack as of the time of publication. Meanwhile, Zelensky announced that a Russian attack on the northeastern city of Sumy killed three people at a location of the private courier company Nova Poshta, while two more people died in southern and eastern Ukraine. Russia also attacked a civilian cargo ship carrying about 2,800 tons of corn from the port of Odesa, leaving two crew members missing.
Ukrainian drones on Saturday reached distant parts of Russia, causing a fire at an oil refinery in the Tyumen region of Siberia and interrupting an all-Russian athletics competition in Yekaterinburg in the Urals due to security threats. Zelensky confirmed the attack on the Siberian refinery and said that Kyiv had struck a military factory in the Kirov region for the second consecutive day. Drone attacks in recent weeks have caused fuel shortages and disruptions to daily life across Russia to an extent not seen since the start of the war.
Moscow reacted sharply. Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova stated, according to Russian state agency TASS, that 'Kyiv is venting its frustration over military losses by attacking civilians' and added that 'Zelensky and his Western sponsors should remember that they will pay for every crime.' On the other hand, Zelensky posted on social media that he has intelligence indicating that Putin is preparing conditions for expanding mobilization. According to that data, in less than seven months of this year, 221,000 people have joined the Russian armed forces, while in the same period total Russian losses amounted to nearly 225,500, including 131,000 killed and almost 93,000 wounded.
Despite Tokayev's call, prospects for peace remain unclear. According to Hindustan Times reporting, Putin has repeatedly stated that Moscow intends to seize the rest of eastern Ukraine by force, and US-led talks to end the worst European conflict since World War II have stalled. The UN recently warned that civilians are dying in growing numbers in the nearly four-and-a-half-year war.
