Ukraine and its allies are ready for a “full, unconditional ceasefire” with Russia for at least 30 days starting on Monday, Ukrainian Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha said Saturday.
His remarks came as the leaders of four major European countries visited Kyiv, amid a push for Moscow to agree to a truce and launch peace talks on ending the nearly three-year war. They followed what Sybiha said was a “constructive” phone call between them, U.S. President Donald Trump and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy.
Saturday is also the last day of a unilateral three-day ceasefire declared by Russia. Ukraine accuses the Kremlin’s forces of repeatedly violating the ceasefire.
In March, the United States proposed an immediate, limited 30-day truce, which Ukraine accepted, but the Kremlin has reportedly held out for better terms.
The four European leaders arrived together Saturday at the train station in Kyiv and met Zelenskyy shortly after to join an Independence Square ceremony marking the 80th anniversary of the end of the Second World War. They lit candles at a makeshift flag memorial for fallen Ukrainian soldiers and civilians slain since Russia’s invasion on Feb. 24, 2022.
It’s the first time the heads of the four European countries have travelled together to Ukraine. For Friedrich Merz, it’s his first visit to Ukraine as Germany’s new chancellor.
“We reiterate our backing for President Trump’s calls for a peace deal and call on Russia to stop obstructing efforts to secure an enduring peace,” the leaders said in a joint statement.
“Alongside the U.S., we call on Russia to agree [to] a full and unconditional 30-day ceasefire to create the space for talks on a just and lasting peace.”
Russia has kept up attacks along the roughly 1,600-kilometre front line, including deadly strikes on residential areas.
On Thursday, Sybiha called the three-day ceasefire declared by Russia a “farce,” accusing Russian forces of violating it more than 700 times within a day of it formally coming into effect. The same day, both sides also said attacks on their troops had continued.
As the U.S. attempts to push Ukraine toward a ceasefire, Russia appears to be heading in the opposite direction. CBC’s Terence McKenna examines the latest moves and why some think Vladimir Putin might be trying to manipulate Donald Trump through his billionaire real estate buddy.
On Saturday morning, local officials in Ukraine’s northern Sumy region said Russian shelling over the past day killed three residents and wounded four more. Another civilian man died on Saturday as a Russian drone struck the southern city of Kherson, according to regional Gov. Oleksandr Prokudin.
Speaking to reporters in Kyiv, French President Emmanuel Macron said: “What’s happening with Poland, Germany and Great Britain is a historic moment for European defence and toward a greater independence for our security. Obviously, for Ukraine and all of us. It’s a new era. It’s a Europe that sees itself as a power.”
Trump said last week that he doubts Russian President Vladimir Putin wants to end his war in Ukraine, expressing new skepticism that a peace deal could be reached soon, and hinted at further sanctions against Russia.
Progress on ending the war has seemed elusive in the months since Trump returned to the White House, and his previous claims of imminent breakthroughs have failed to come to fruition. The U.S. president has previously pushed Ukraine to cede territory to Russia to end the war, threatening to walk away if a deal becomes too difficult.
Ukraine’s European allies view an end to the war as fundamental to the continent’s security, and pressure is now mounting to find ways to support Kyiv militarily, regardless of whether Trump pulls out.
Ukrainian presidential aide Andrii Yermak, who met the European leaders at Kyiv’s main train station, wrote on the Telegram messaging platform earlier on Saturday: “There is a lot of work, a lot of topics to discuss. We need to end this war with a just peace. We need to force Moscow to agree to a ceasefire.”
Later in the day, the leaders began hosting a virtual meeting alongside Zelenskyy to update other leaders on the progress being made for a future so-called “coalition of the willing” that would help Ukraine’s armed forces after a peace deal and potentially deploy troops to Ukraine to police any future peace agreement with Russia.
