Ukraine demands 30-day truce backed by allies, including US
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Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky (second from left) held talks in Kyiv with (from far left) British PM Keir Starmer, French President Emmanuel Macron, Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk and German Chancellor Friedrich Merz on May 10.
PHOTO: AFP
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KYIV – Ukraine and European powers demanded that Russia join an “unconditional” 30-day ceasefire from May 12 to allow talks on ending the war, saying they had backing from US President Donald Trump for the ultimatum.
A refusal by Russian President Vladimir Putin to observe the truce would trigger a fresh wave of sanctions targeting energy and the financial sector, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said on May 10.
The plan was announced after Mr Zelensky held talks in Kyiv
The five leaders then discussed the proposal in a 20-minute call with Mr Trump that had not been previously scheduled and was described as “warm” by a person familiar with the interaction.
Mr Zelensky told reporters: “We have agreed that from Monday, May 12, a full and unconditional ceasefire for at least 30 days should start. Together, we demand this from Russia. We know that the US is supporting us on this.”
Ukraine and its allies had “an absolutely clear and unanimous stance” on the proposal, Mr Zelensky said. “If Russia rejects a full and unconditional ceasefire, sanctions should be applied.”
The announcement came after Mr Zelensky hosted the four European leaders for a “coalition of the willing” meeting.
Nato secretary-general Mark Rutte said “more than 20 leaders” took part in the discussions by joining the meeting remotely.
Mr Macron said: “In case of violation of this ceasefire, we agreed that massive sanctions would be prepared and coordinated between Europeans and Americans.
“In order to prepare this robust and long-lasting peace, we will continue to bring our financial and military support to Ukraine.”
Separately, Republican Senator Lindsey Graham of South Carolina, a Trump ally, said in April that he had the commitment of 72 colleagues for a Bill that would enact “bone-crushing” new sanctions on Russia and tariffs on countries that buy its oil, gas and other key products if Mr Putin does not engage in serious talks to halt the war.
The punishments would include a 500 per cent tariff on imports from countries that buy Russian oil, petroleum products, natural gas or uranium, according to a draft seen by Bloomberg News.
In response to Mr Zelensky’s announcement on May 10, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov was quoted by the Interfax news agency and reported by Reuters as saying: “We hear many contradictory statements from Europe. They are generally confrontational in nature rather than aimed at trying to revive our relations. Nothing more.”
Mr Peskov had earlier dismissed the European threat, telling state television that “it’s pointless to frighten us with these sanctions” when Russia had already learnt to live with existing restrictions enacted since its full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022.
According to a transcript released by the British Prime Minister’s office, Mr Starmer told a news conference: “Working with President Trump, with all our partners, we will ramp up sanctions and increase our military aid for Ukraine’s defence to pressure Russia back to the table.”
If Mr Putin is “serious about peace, then he has a chance to show it now”, he added.
The Russian leader, however, has shown no sign that he is willing to halt the invasion.
In a speech on May 9 at a military parade on Moscow’s Red Square to mark the 80th anniversary of the end of World War II, he declared Russians were united in support of his war and “that strength of spirit has always brought us only victory”.
Russian President Vladimir Putin has shown no sign that he is willing to halt the Ukraine invasion.
PHOTO: AFP
Mr Trump on May 8 called for a month-long unconditional truce
Asked on May 9 in the Oval Office if he had a message for Mr Putin, Mr Trump said
The pace of diplomacy to end the longest and bloodiest conflict in Europe since World War II has intensified after several meetings between European, US and Ukrainian envoys, including in London and Paris.
Those leaders held another series of phone calls this week, and Mr Zelensky met Mr Trump at the Vatican
European and US officials said privately that views within the White House on the conflict have hardened, with Mr Putin now seen as an impediment to peace efforts.
US Vice-President J.D. Vance this week said Russia was “asking for too much”
Mr Putin has maintained maximalist positions for any ceasefire, including that Russia be granted control of four eastern and south-eastern Ukrainian regions it annexed illegally in the 2022 full-scale invasion but does not fully occupy.
The US has floated proposals that would broadly freeze the conflict along current lines, leaving most of the territory occupied by Russia in Moscow’s hands. The Trump administration is also prepared to recognise the Ukrainian region of Crimea that Mr Putin annexed in 2014 as Russian, Bloomberg reported in April.
Ukraine’s Nato aspirations would be off the table, sanctions on Russia would be lifted, while Kyiv would receive strong security guarantees to ensure that any deal holds.
On the morning of May 10, Mr Zelensky and the four visiting leaders paid tribute to Ukraine’s war dead at a monument in Kyiv’s Independence Square before the start of the talks.
“We must end this war with a just peace,” Mr Andriy Yermak, Mr Zelensky’s chief of staff, said on Telegram. “We must force Moscow to agree to a ceasefire.” BLOOMBERG
