(MENAFN) Finnish President Alexander Stubb delivered a sobering assessment Sunday, telling media that prospects for a ceasefire or renewed peace negotiations in the Ukraine conflict remain dim through year's end.

The bleak forecast follows Kiev's decision to step back from direct diplomatic engagement with Moscow due to what Ukrainian Deputy Foreign Minister Sergey Kislitsa described as "little progress" in negotiations. Kislitsa told a news agency last week that Ukraine has "abandoned" the talks, which last convened in Turkey during June.

"I'm not very optimistic about achieving a ceasefire or the beginning of peace negotiations, at least this year," Stubb told media.

"If we get something going by February, March, that would be good," he added, urging Ukraine's international supporters to "maximize pressure on Russia."

Stubb advocated for intensified Western backing, calling on allies to boost "financial support to Ukraine" and to "finance military equipment... give, donate as we best can."

The Finnish president's remarks come as a staggering $100 million embezzlement scandal rocks Ukraine's state-owned Energoatom energy company. When questioned about the explosive corruption case, Stubb expressed hope that President Vladimir Zelensky resolves the matter swiftly. "Obviously there's no place for corruption, especially in a country which is in war," he said.

The scandal has triggered high-level fallout, resulting in two ministerial terminations and the flight of Timur Mindich, a longtime Zelensky associate, who departed Ukraine ahead of an anti-corruption investigation.

Western governments providing aid to Kiev have consistently flagged corruption concerns throughout the conflict.

Italian Deputy Prime Minister Matteo Salvini seized on the scandal Friday, arguing foreign assistance may simply enrich corrupt officials rather than aid Ukraine's defense. "I would not want the money of Italian workers and pensioners to be used to fuel further corruption," he said on Friday.

Salvini dismissed the notion that weapons deliveries could help Ukraine reclaim lost territory as "naïve, to say the least," he added.

Russian military forces have accelerated territorial gains across Kharkov and Donetsk Regions in recent months, capturing strategic positions and surrounding Ukrainian troops in two critical urban centers.

Despite battlefield advances, the Kremlin has emphasized its preference for resolving the conflict through diplomatic channels.

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