KYIV: Ukraine and its allies are ready for a “full, unconditional ceasefire” with Russia for at least 30 days starting Monday, Ukrainian Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha said Saturday.
His remarks came as the leaders of four major European countries visited Kyiv to 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, US President Donald Trump and his Ukrainian counterpart, Volodymyr Zelensky.
Saturday also marked the last day of a unilateral three-day ceasefire declared by Russia that Ukraine says the Kremlin’s forces have repeatedly violated.
In March, the United States proposed an immediate, limited 30-day truce, which Ukraine accepted, but the Kremlin has held out for terms more to its liking.
The leaders of France, Germany, Poland and the United Kingdom arrived together at the train station in Kyiv, and met Zelensky shortly after to join a ceremony at Kyiv’s Independence Square marking the 80th anniversary of the end of World War II. They lit candles at a makeshift flag memorial for fallen Ukrainian soldiers and civilians slain since Russia’s invasion.
The visit marked the first time the leaders of the four countries had traveled together to Ukraine, with Friedrich Merz making his first visit to Ukraine as Germany’s new chancellor.
Sybiha on Thursday called the Russian truce a “farce,” accusing Russian forces of violating it over 700 times less than a day after it formally came into effect. Both sides also said attacks on their troops had continued on Thursday.
“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 US, 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.”
Retired Lt. Gen. Keith Kellogg, Trump’s special envoy to Ukraine and Russia, said Saturday that a “comprehensive” 30-day ceasefire, covering attacks from the air, land, sea and on infrastructure, “will start the process for ending the largest and longest war in Europe since World War II.”
Trump has pressed both sides to quickly come to an agreement to end the war, but while Zelensky agreed to the American plan for an initial 30-day halt to hostilities, Russia has not signed on. Instead, it has kept up attacks along the roughly 1,000-mile (1,600-kilometer) front line, including deadly strikes on residential areas with no obvious military targets.
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 the spot 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 defense 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 Russia’s Vladimir Putin wants to end his war in Ukraine, expressing new skepticism that a peace deal can 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.
Trump 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 its fate 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 Telegram 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 Zelensky 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.
