European Leaders Visit Ukraine and Press Russia for a 30-Day Cease-Fire

The leaders of Britain, France, Germany and Poland, on their first joint go to to Ukraine, stated on Saturday that Russia would face “new and massive” sanctions on its banking and power sectors if President Vladimir V. Putin refused to comply with a full, unconditional 30-day cease-fire.

Hours later, Mr. Putin brushed that demand apart and known as as a substitute for direct talks between Russia and Ukraine to be held in Turkey.

Mr. Putin, chatting with reporters in an uncommon assertion after 1 a.m. on Sunday, stated Russia was “prepared for serious negotiations with Ukraine” and “without any preconditions.” He proposed a gathering between Russia and Ukraine in Istanbul on Could 15, with out specifying who would take part within the talks.

He didn’t instantly handle the European name for a 30-day cease-fire, however indicated Russia wouldn’t cease combating earlier than the negotiations on Could 15, in the event that they occur.

There was no quick response from Ukraine early Sunday, however about an hour after Mr. Putin’s information convention, authorities reported an assault by Russian exploding drones that set off air alerts in a number of cities, together with Kyiv, Ukraine’s capital.

“The point is to eliminate the root causes of the conflict,” Mr. Putin stated. “We don’t rule out that in the course of these negotiations, it will be possible to reach agreement on some new truces, on a new cease-fire, and a real one at that.”

In Kyiv on Saturday, Prime Minister Keir Starmer of Britain held a information convention with President Emmanuel Macron of France, Chancellor Friedrich Merz of Germany, Prime Minister Donald Tusk of Poland and President Volodymyr Zelensky of Ukraine.

“All of us are calling Putin out,” Mr. Starmer stated. “If he’s serious about peace, then he has a chance to show it now.”

Mr. Starmer stated the European effort, which requires a truce to start on Monday, had been coordinated carefully with the White Home.

A senior U.S. official, talking on background due to a scarcity of authorization to debate the negotiations, stated that President Trump had been in contact with European leaders all through the week, within the lead-up to the announcement in Kyiv, and that he signaled to Mr. Starmer and Mr. Macron on Saturday morning that he supported their proposal for sanctions absent a cease-fire by Monday.

Mr. Trump can also be not against having america assist monitor a cease-fire, however didn’t make agency commitments about what that may entail or require, the official stated. White Home officers harassed that Mr. Trump has left sanctions on the desk repeatedly, together with in a recent Truth Social post.

The Trump administration proposed the 30-day cease-fire, to which Kyiv agreed, throughout talks this spring in Saudi Arabia.

The competing proposals from Kyiv and Moscow are the newest occasion during which each Russia and Ukraine have sought to place themselves as looking for peace amid Mr. Trump’s efforts to finish the struggle. Ukraine first agreed to a 30-day cease-fire in March, however Mr. Putin didn’t, as a substitute setting onerous situations corresponding to a halt to Western army support to Kyiv.

In latest weeks, Mr. Putin has repeatedly known as for direct talks between Russia and Ukraine, although Sunday’s feedback have been his most intensive on the matter. Ukraine has additionally stated it’s prepared for negotiations, however no direct talks have taken place, so far as is thought.

The final time that Ukraine and Russia publicly engaged in peace talks was in Istanbul in March 2022. Mr. Putin stated Sunday that the proposed Could 15 assembly might function a continuation of these Istanbul talks three years in the past, during which Russia sought to restrict the scale of Ukraine’s army along with banning the nation from ever becoming a member of NATO.

Earlier Saturday, Ukraine’s overseas minister, Andrii Sybiha, launched {a photograph} of the 5 leaders huddled round a cellphone. Mr. Sybiha stated they have been speaking with Mr. Trump.

“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,” Mr. Sybiha wrote on social media. “If Russia agrees and effective monitoring is ensured, a durable ceasefire and confidence-building measures can pave the way to peace negotiations.”

Earlier than the European leaders gave their information convention, Dmitri S. Peskov, the Kremlin spokesman, dismissed the specter of new sanctions, telling the Russian broadcaster Rossiya-1 that the nation was “accustomed to such pressure measures and knows how to minimize their consequences.”

He had earlier stated that Russia remained against any cease-fire until Western nations stopped offering army support to Ukraine, based on the Russian information company Tass.

The go to of the European leaders to Kyiv — which started with a solemn tribute to the hundreds of Ukrainian troopers killed in battle, as the boys laid flowers at a makeshift memorial — got here at some point after Russia’s celebration of the eightieth anniversary of the allied victory over Nazi Germany in World Struggle II. At that celebration, Mr. Putin welcomed President Xi Jinping of China and different overseas dignitaries to Moscow for a army parade meant to mission Russia’s energy and Mr. Putin’s bid to reshape the worldwide order on his phrases.

In the meanwhile, Ukraine is caught between an emboldened Russia, buoyed by China, North Korea and Iran, and a Europe struggling to fill the void left by america.

It has been greater than 120 days since america introduced a brand new spherical of army help to Ukraine. It stays unclear if the Trump administration plans to spend the remaining $3.85 billion that Congress has approved for extra withdrawals from the Protection Division’s stockpiles.

Ukraine is racing to construct up its home arms manufacturing and its European allies have elevated their army help. Even when Russia agrees to a cease-fire, Ukraine and its allies imagine that the one manner to make sure a long-lasting peace is thru army energy.

However the coming weeks will take a look at whether or not European resolve and sources can match the dimensions of the problem because the struggle’s end result more and more turns into Europe’s downside to resolve.

A lot of the strain Washington has delivered to bear to finish the combating has been directed at Kyiv, although Mr. Trump has lately proven flashes of frustration with Moscow.

Daniel Fried, a former prime U.S. diplomat and fellow on the Atlantic Council in Washington, stated there was hope that the American and European insurance policies on Ukraine are converging, however many exams remained.

“The moment of truth” will come, he stated, if Mr. Putin refuses the 30-day cease-fire. After which, if there’s a cease-fire, he stated, the following take a look at could come if Russia violates the truce.

“What, then, will be the U.S. response?” he stated.

Maggie Haberman contributed reporting from New York, and Andrew E. Kramer from Kyiv.