The British Prime Minister, Keir Starmer, the President of France, Emmanuel Macron, the German Chancellor, Friedrich Merz, and the Polish Donald Tusk, who are in Kiev to show their support for Ukraine, have threatened Russian President Vladimir Putin with harsher sanctions if the Kremlin does not accept a 30-day ceasefire to initiate talks to end the Ukraine war that has lasted over three years.
The response was swift. "It's a waste of time," said the Russian presidency spokesperson, Dmitri Peskov, on Russian state television. Russia demands the cessation of Western arms supplies to Ukraine in case of a ceasefire.
Starmer, Macron, and Merz, who traveled together by train to Kiev, and Tusk, who met them in the Ukrainian capital, are part of the so-called volunteer coalition, working on the possible creation of a peacekeeping military contingent to be deployed in Ukraine after this war to deter Russia from launching a new invasion in the future. The four, along with Ukrainian President Volodimir Zelenski, had a phone conversation this morning with US President Donald Trump.
Unlike the Trump administration, which also calls on Putin for a 30-day ceasefire, European leaders demand a return to Ukraine's pre-war borders.
French Macron calls for "direct talks" between Ukraine and Russia, and Chancellor Merk offers to speak directly with the Russian leader.
Two months ago, a 30-day ceasefire proposal from the Saudi city of Jeddah was rejected by Russia. Since then, at least 117 civilians have died and over 1,000 have been injured in Russian airstrikes.
Trump to Russia and Ukraine: "End this stupid war"
US President Donald Trump sent a strong message to Russia and Ukraine on Friday regarding the war these countries have been fighting for three years: "End this stupid war," as reported by Efe.
Trump made the comment during his regular press briefing in the Oval Office after being asked about a warning from the US Embassy in Ukraine about a possible Russian attack on the capital, Kiev.
"I have a message for both parties: end this war," said the Republican leader, who had promised during his election campaign to end this conflict within the first 100 days of his second term.
He then mentioned that 5,000 soldiers die each week, "Russian and Ukrainian soldiers, and also other people," as a result of the conflict. "And I say: end this stupid war. That's my message to both," he added.