European leaders called US President Donald Trump to discuss the 30-day ceasefire proposals between Russia and Ukraine from Monday during a visit to kyiv.
The call came after the leaders of the so-called “Coalition of the Willing” held a meeting to discuss the peace talks.
The leaders of France, Germany, the United Kingdom and Poland were organized in person by the Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, while others joined remotely.
The president of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen, said that the coalition had supported a “complete and unconditional” ceasefire – originally advanced by Trump – and that the EU was ready to “impose other biting sanctions” if it was broken.
The presence of British Prime Minister Sir Keir Keir Starmer, French President Emmanuel Macron, Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk and the new German Chancellor Friedrich Merz in the Ukrainian capital was a symbolic response to the more than 20 leaders who joined Russian President Vladimir Putin in Moscow on Friday.
In a joint statement before the visit, they declared that they “will remain in kyiv in solidarity with Ukraine against the barbaric and illegal in -scale invasion of Russia”.
The leaders added: “Alongside the United States, we call on Russia to agree on a full and unconditional ceasefire of 30 days to create space for talks on just and lasting peace.”
A 30-hour ceasefire, unilaterally called by Putin to mark the day of Russia’s victory, should end on Saturday. He has had a decrease in fighting, but both parties have accused the other of violations.
The “coalition of willingly” was formed to strengthen any possible peace agreement with security guarantees, including the possibility of placing troops in Ukraine.
Trump reiterated the call to an unconditional 30-day ceasefire after a telephone call with Zelensky.
“If the ceasefire is not respected, the United States and its partners will impose other sanctions,” he wrote on social networks.
While the meeting took place, the spokesperson for Kremlin, Dmitry Peskov, said that Russia was already “used for sanctions” and knew how to minimize their impact, adding: “It is useless to try to frighten these sanctions.”
Meanwhile, Dmitry Medvedev, the former Russian president and now deputy chief of the Russian Security Council, told European allies to “push these peace plans”.
The other leaders who joined the meeting included from the Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni, Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney, Von Der Leyen and Mark Rutte, the secretary general of NATO.
Russian attack reports across Ukraine are continuing, despite Russia’s claims of a temporary ceasefire.
In the north of the Sumy region, an 85 -year -old woman was killed, three other injured, 19 residential houses and 10 other buildings were destroyed or damaged, said Ukrainian police.
In Kostyantynivka, in the Eastern Donetsk region, one person was injured and two apartments caught fire after the Russian attacks, the Ukrainian state emergency service said.
And in the southern city of Kherson, a 58 -year -old local resident asked for medical aid after being attacked by a Russian drone carrying explosives, the regional administration said.
