Leaders from four European allies visited Kyiv on Saturday, where they said they would ratchet up pressure on Russian President Vladimir Putin if he does not accept an unconditional 30-day ceasefire that they offered, in a strong show of unity with Ukraine.
The leaders of France, the United Kingdom, Germany, and Poland said their proposal for a ceasefire starting on Monday was supported by US President Donald Trump, whom they had briefed over the phone earlier in the day.
The four — German Chancellor Friedrich Merz, French President Emmanuel Macron, UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer and Polish Premier Donald Tusk — arrived together at the train station in Kyiv on Saturday, where they met Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy.
Shortly afterwards, they laid flowers at a flag memorial for fallen Ukrainian soldiers at Kyiv's Independence Square during a ceremony marking the 80th anniversary of the end of World War II.
The visit marked the first time the leaders of the four countries had travelled together to Ukraine, while Merz made his first visit to Ukraine as Germany’s new chancellor.
Along with Trump, the European leaders are pushing for Russia to agree to a 30-day ceasefire to allow for peace talks on ending Moscow's war in Ukraine, now in its fourth year.
In March, the United States proposed an immediate 30-day truce in the war, which Ukraine accepted, but the Kremlin has held out for ceasefire terms more to its liking.
“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."
“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," Ukrainian presidential advisor Andriy Yermak wrote on his Telegram.
Later in the day, the leaders hosted 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 oversee any future peace agreement with Moscow.
