Russian President Vladimir Putin has proposed direct talks with Ukraine, scheduled to take place in Istanbul on May 15, and has emphasised that these discussions should occur "without preconditions."
Speaking to reporters in the Kremlin early on Sunday, Putin expressed his intent to "restart" the peace talks that had been initiated between Russia and Ukraine in 2022. His statement comes in the wake of pressure from four major European leaders, who have jointly called for a 30-day ceasefire in Ukraine, to begin on Monday, as a prelude to diplomatic talks.
The leaders of France, the United Kingdom, Germany, and Poland made their demand for a ceasefire, which has also garnered the support of US President Donald Trump, whom they briefed earlier in the day. The European leaders have said that they will increase pressure on Russia if Putin does not accept their proposal.
However, Putin did not directly address the European-led ceasefire proposal during his Saturday remarks. Earlier, Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov indicated that Moscow would "consider" the ceasefire offer. This follows Russia’s unilateral three-day ceasefire, declared in honour of the 80th anniversary of the victory over Nazi Germany, which expired on Saturday. Ukraine, however, has claimed that Russian forces violated the ceasefire repeatedly.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, who met with the European leaders in Kyiv, called the gathering a "very important signal." The leaders issued a joint statement, calling for a ceasefire that would last at least 30 days, commencing Monday. The statement stressed that "an unconditional ceasefire by definition cannot be subject to any conditions." They further warned that if Russia imposed conditions, it would be seen as an effort to prolong the war.
French President Emmanuel Macron stated that the US would oversee the monitoring of the ceasefire, with support from European countries. He also warned that Russia would face "massive sanctions" if it violated the ceasefire.
Macron, accompanied by British Prime Minister Keir Starmer, German Chancellor Friedrich Merz, and Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk, travelled to Kyiv to demonstrate Europe's solidarity with Ukraine.
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Retired US Lt. Gen. Keith Kellogg, who served as Trump’s special envoy to Ukraine, echoed the European leaders' stance, suggesting that a ceasefire would "start the process for ending the largest and longest war in Europe since World War II."
As of now, Russia continues to launch attacks along the 1,000-kilometre front line, including deadly strikes on civilian areas. The European leaders are pushing for a ceasefire that would halt fighting on land, sea, and in the air, with the potential for harsher sanctions, including measures targeting Russia’s energy and banking sectors, should Russia fail to comply.
In the meantime, Ukrainian Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha emphasised that the priority was to make it "too costly for Russia to keep fighting" by strengthening military capabilities and imposing sanctions.
Addressing concerns over the monitoring mechanism, Sybiha told The Associated Press that discussions were ongoing. Merz, however, reassured that even if the ceasefire proposal failed, a broad coalition of EU member states and other countries would enforce sanctions on Russia.
The leaders also discussed providing security guarantees to Ukraine, which included increasing its military capabilities and supplying sufficient arms to deter future Russian attacks. The idea of deploying a foreign troop force as a "reassurance" measure was also proposed, though Macron did not specify the details.
Earlier on Saturday, the European leaders participated in a ceremony marking the 80th anniversary of the end of World War II in Kyiv, lighting candles alongside Zelenskyy for those who had fallen during the war, including Ukrainian soldiers and civilians killed since Russia's invasion.
Meanwhile, Russian shelling in Ukraine’s northern Sumy region killed three residents and injured four more, local officials reported. Another civilian died after a Russian drone struck Kherson, in the south of Ukraine.
The US Embassy in Kyiv issued a warning on Friday of a "potentially significant" Russian air attack in the coming days, although further details were not provided.
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