Ukraine, allies discuss ways to pressure Russia into 30-day ceasefire
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A man waiting for Ukrainian rescuers and municipal services to find his mother under the rubble of a residential building destroyed by an aerial bomb, on May 7, in Ukraine's front-line city of Kostyantynivka, in the Donetsk region.
PHOTO: EPA-EFE
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KYIV - Ukraine has discussed ways to pressure Russia into agreeing to a 30-day ceasefire with US, French, British and German senior officials, President Volodymyr Zelensky's top aide said on May 8, part of a flurry of diplomacy to try to end the war.
Mr Andriy Yermak, Mr Zelensky's chief of staff, did not say when the online talks with US special envoys, Mr Steve Witkoff and General Keith Kellogg, France's top diplomatic adviser, Mr Emmanuel Bonne, Britain's national security adviser, Mr Jonathan Powell, and Mr Guenter Sautter, a top adviser to the German leader, took place.
But he said all parties "emphasised that a complete and unconditional ceasefire should be the first step towards a just and sustainable peace".
"We also discussed instruments of pressure in case Russia refuses the initiative or violates the agreements," Mr Yermak said on Telegram.
Ukraine has expressed readiness to accept a US proposal a ceasefire of only three days
"The Kremlin's proposal for a three-day truce is not about peace, but about safely holding of the parade in Moscow. This is political manipulation," Mr Yermak said.
Russia, which launched a full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022, is preparing to stage a military parade on May 9 to mark the 80th anniversary of the defeat of Nazi Germany in what Mr Putin hopes will be a show of strength.
On May 8, after the declared ceasefire had come into effect, the skies over Ukraine's major cities were quiet, though there were reports of clashes
