Ukraine and its European allies have agreed to call on Russia to accept a 30-day unconditional ceasefire as of Monday, following talks in Kyiv between President Volodymyr Zelensky and four European leaders.
The leaders of France, Britain, Germany and Poland met Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky in Kyiv on Saturday to ratchet up pressure on Russia to commit to a 30-day ceasefire.
"Ukraine and all allies are ready for a full unconditional ceasefire on land, air, and at sea for at least 30 days starting already on Monday," Ukraine's foreign minister Andriy Sybiga said in a post on X following the talks.
French President Emmanuel Macron, German Chancellor Friedrich Merz, British Prime Minister Keir Starmer and Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk were making their first joint visit to Ukraine.
More than three years after the Russian invasion, it's a strong symbolic show of European unity, just a day after President Vladimir Putin struck a defiant tone at a Moscow parade marking 80 years since victory in World War II.
US President Donald Trump has proposed a 30-day unconditional ceasefire as a step to end the conflict. Ukraine has agreed but Putin has resisted so far.
A three-day truce, unilaterally declared by Putin on Thursday and which Ukraine has declared a farce, ends on Saturday.
Moscow has ruled out a longer truce unless the West halts arms deliveries to Kyiv.
New push to end the war in Ukraine gains ground in Paris talks
'Bloodshed must end'
The four countries, part of an alliance Britain and France have called "the coalition of the willing", said in a joint statement they were "ready to support peace talks as soon as possible".
"We are clear the bloodshed must end. Russia must stop its illegal invasion," they said.
"Alongside the US, we call on Russia to agree a full and unconditional 30-day ceasefire to create the space for talks on a just and lasting peace."
On his way to Kyiv, French President Emmanuel Macron said that once a 30-day ceasefire was in place, there could be "direct talks between Ukraine and Russia".
Both Moscow and Kyiv have hinted they are open to negotiating with each other but Zelensky says this would only be possible once a ceasefire takes effect.
German Chancellor Friedrich Merz, who took office only this week, warned Russia will face tougher sanctions if it refuses the ceasefire.
If President Vladimir Putin does not agree to the truce, "there will be a massive hardening of sanctions and the massive aid to Ukraine will continue – politically, of course, but also financially and militarily," Merz said in an interview with German media.
Germany's Merz tells Trump US remains 'indispensable' friend
European force
The leaders are later scheduled to host a virtual meeting to update other European leaders on moves to create a European force that could provide Ukraine with security after the war.
Such a force "would help regenerate Ukraine's armed forces after any peace deal and strengthen confidence in any future peace", the leaders' statement said.
Russia has said it will not tolerate any Western military presence in Ukraine once the fighting ends and has warned the proposal could spark war between Moscow and Nato.
The symbolic show of European unity comes a day after Putin hosted Chinese President Xi Jinping but also Slovak Prime Minister Robert Fico, whose country is an EU member, at the Moscow parade. Slovakia stopped supplying Ukraine with military aid in October 2023.
War in Ukraine shifts France's weapons industry into high gear
In an interview with the ABC news channel on Saturday, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said arms deliveries from Ukraine's allies would have to stop before Russia would agree to a ceasefire.
A truce would otherwise be an "advantage for Ukraine" at a time when "Russian troops are advancing... in quite a confident way" on the front, Peskov said, adding that Ukraine was "not ready for immediate negotiations".
Russia has occupied about a fifth of Ukrainian territory since its invasion in February 2022 and intensified deadly attacks on the country this spring.
The US embassy in Kyiv said on Friday that a "significant air attack" could occur at some point within the next several days.
(with newswires)
