KYIV, Ukraine: Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said Saturday that Russia’s response to US ceasefire efforts had been inadequate “for too long,” and that Moscow needed to be pressured into a peace deal.
Both Moscow and Kyiv agreed to the concept of a Black Sea truce following talks with US officials earlier this week, but Russia said it would not enter into force until the West lifted certain sanctions.
“For too long now, America’s proposal for an unconditional ceasefire has been on the table without an adequate response from Russia,” Zelensky said in his evening address.
“There could already be a ceasefire if there was real pressure on Russia,” he added, thanking those countries “who understand this” and have stepped up sanctions pressure on the Kremlin.
US President Donald Trump has been pushing for a speedy end to the more than three-year war since taking office, but his administration has failed to reach a breakthrough despite talks with both sides.
Russian President Vladimir Putin rejected a joint US-Ukrainian plan for a 30-day ceasefire, and on Friday suggested Zelensky be removed from office as part of the peace process, further toughening Moscow’s negotiating position and angering Kyiv.
![]()
Russian response to US truce plans inadequate ‘for too long’: Zelensky
Short Url
https://arab.news/wkyp3
Russian response to US truce plans inadequate ‘for too long’: Zelensky
- “For too long now, America’s proposal for an unconditional ceasefire has been on the table without an adequate response from Russia,” Zelensky says
Russia, Ukraine exchange bodies of killed soldiers
MOSCOW: Russia has handed over the remains of 1,000 Ukrainian soldiers to Kyiv, a Moscow official said Thursday, with Ukraine returning the bodies of 35 Russians in exchange.
The two sides regularly exchange the remains of troops killed in combat, one of the few areas of cooperation.
“The bodies of 1,000 dead Ukrainian soldiers were given to Ukraine. Russia was given the bodies of 35 dead Russian fighters,” Moscow’s top negotiator Vladimir Medinsky said on social media.
He posted a photo showing men in white overalls and blue gloves lifting a white body bag from the back of a refrigerated truck.
Hundreds of thousands of soldiers have been killed in the four-year war, triggered when Moscow launched its full-scale offensive against Ukraine in February 2022.
Negotiators from both countries were in Geneva on Thursday for separate talks with US officials, part of a fraught negotiation process being pushed by President Donald Trump in a bid to end the fighting.
The two sides regularly exchange the remains of troops killed in combat, one of the few areas of cooperation.
“The bodies of 1,000 dead Ukrainian soldiers were given to Ukraine. Russia was given the bodies of 35 dead Russian fighters,” Moscow’s top negotiator Vladimir Medinsky said on social media.
He posted a photo showing men in white overalls and blue gloves lifting a white body bag from the back of a refrigerated truck.
Hundreds of thousands of soldiers have been killed in the four-year war, triggered when Moscow launched its full-scale offensive against Ukraine in February 2022.
Negotiators from both countries were in Geneva on Thursday for separate talks with US officials, part of a fraught negotiation process being pushed by President Donald Trump in a bid to end the fighting.
Latest updates
© 2026 SAUDI RESEARCH & PUBLISHING COMPANY, All Rights Reserved And subject to Terms of Use Agreement.