Ukrainian Prime Minister Denys Shmyhal on September 10 expressed hopes for a second peace summit that could dramatically increase the number of national countries from a similar gathering in Switzerland three months ago aimed at ending the current war with Russia.
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At his first press conference since a government shakeup last week, Shmyhal told journalists that he hoped the next peace summit could be organized by the end of the year and attract at least 150 countries.
In one of the most public pushes for a cease-fire since the two-and-a-half-year-old defense against a full-scale Russian invasion began in early 2022, Kyiv pressed for a Swiss summit in June where 80 countries called for the territorial integrity of Ukraine to be the foundation of any eventual peace deal.
Russian officials, whom Kyiv has accused of being unprepared and unserious about possible peace talks, were not invited to that gathering.
China, which has backed Russia diplomatically since its "no limits" partnership with Moscow was inked in the weeks before Russian troops rolled en masse into Ukraine, declined to attend.
Before the Swiss event, Russian President Vladimir Putin issued harsh terms for a cease-fire that included the full handover of four regions Russia claimed to annex in 2022.
Russian invasion forces are said to control about one-fifth of Ukraine, including the Crimean Peninsula occupied and annexed in 2014. It has repeatedly organized internationally unrecognized elections in occupied parts of Ukraine, including last weekend.
SEE ALSO: Wartime Imitation: Russia Holds Illegitimate Elections In Occupied Crimea
Ukraine has claimed control of around 1,200 square kilometers of Russian territory since a surprise incursion into Russia's southern Kursk region was launched in early August.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy said last week that "we don't need their land" but that the incursion allows for potential bargaining chips in the form of captured land and troops.
Zelenskiy has repeatedly pushed back against reports of international pressure that might encourage Kyiv to give up hope of regaining control of all its territory in exchange for peace.
Russian media on September 10 quoted former Russian Defense Minister and current Russian Security Council Secretary Sergei Shoigu as saying the Kursk attack was intended to distract Moscow from its goals in eastern Ukraine. But, he said, Russian forces are continuing their offensive.
At the press conference in Kyiv, Shmyhal said Ukraine significantly boosted its weapons production on the previous year and hoped to produce 1 million drones -- a critical tool to resist larger Russian forces -- by the end of the year.
"In the first eight months of 2024, we have doubled our weapons production compared to 2023. We are making progress. Drone production continues to grow," he was quoted as saying.
Shmyhal also touted the relative success of the Ukrainian economy in the form of 3.7 percent growth in the second quarter and modest inflation.
He claimed that Ukrainian exports were nearing prewar levels.
But Shmyhal acknowledged that talks with the monitoring mission of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) were "difficult" and rife with challenges.