Volodymyr Zelenksy called Vladimir Putin's words "very predictable" and "very manipulative" after the Russian leader spoke out about Ukraine ceasefire plans.
The Ukrainian leader said Putin was preparing a rejection of the ceasefire proposal and said he was "afraid to say directly to President Trump that he wants to continue this war".
Putin has stated that he agrees in principle with a US proposal for a 30-day ceasefire in Ukraine, but he emphasised that the terms are yet to be worked out and noted that any truce should pave the way to lasting peace.
And Trump said there have been “good signals” coming out of Russia and offered guarded optimism about Putin’s statement. He reiterated that he stood ready to speak with Putin and underscored that it was time to end the war.
Putin “put out a very promising statement, but it wasn’t complete,” Trump said. “Now we’re going to see whether or not Russia’s there. And if they’re not, it’ll be a very disappointing moment for the world.”
Trump wants to end the three-year war and pressured Zelensky to enter talks having previously made wild claims that Ukraine was responsible for the conflict in the first place while he has cosied up to Putin. US arms deliveries to Ukraine resumed on Wednesday a day after the Trump administration lifted its suspension of military aid for Kyiv in its fight against Russia’s invasion, and officials awaited the Kremlin’s response to a proposed 30-day ceasefire endorsed by Ukraine.
Marco Rubio, the US Secretary of State, who led the American delegation to Saudi Arabia where Ukraine consented to the US ceasefire proposal, said Washington will pursue “multiple points of contacts” with Russia to see if Putin is ready to negotiate an end to the war. The US hopes to see Russia stop attacks on Ukraine within the next few days as a first step, Rubio said.
While Trump said: "Hopefully we can get a ceasefire from Russia. And if we do, I think that would be 80% of the way to getting this horrible bloodbath [ended].” A ceasefire would just stop the fighting for 30 days where talks could take place on a lasting peace.
“The idea itself is correct, and we certainly support it,” Putin told a news conference in Moscow. “But there are issues that we need to discuss, and I think that we need to talk about it with our American colleagues and partners and, perhaps, have a call with President Trump and discuss it with him.”
Putin, who launched the full-scale invasion of Ukraine more than three years ago, noted the need to control possible breaches of the truce and signalled that Russia would seek guarantees that Ukraine would not use the break in hostilities to rearm and continue mobilisation. “We agree with the proposals to halt the fighting, but we proceed from the assumption that the ceasefire should lead to lasting peace and remove the root causes of the crisis,” Putin said.
And Zelensky speaking this evening said: "Putin, of course, is afraid to say directly to President Trump that he wants to continue this war, he wants to kill Ukrainians. That's why they in Moscow are framing the idea of silence with such preconditions that nothing will happen at all or that it will not happen for as long as possible."
He rejected Putin's words as "just another Russian manipulation" while at the same time saying that Ukraine does not "set conditions that complicate anything". "As we have always said, the only one who will drag things out, the only one who will be unconstructive, is Russia," said Zelensky. "They want a war. Putin has stolen years of peace and continues this war - day after day."
Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer said a peace deal in Ukraine is needed to ensure the Russian president’s war does not maintain a “choke hold” on Europe. Downing Street made clear the UK supported Trump’s warnings of “very bad” financial consequences for Moscow if Mr Putin failed to co-operate with peace talks.
Sir Keir stressed the need for a lasting peace which would deter Mr Putin from attempting to conquer his neighbour again. He said: “I profoundly believe that if we don’t secure a just peace and a lasting peace, then that insecurity, which we’ve already felt, will continue.
“And that means, here, higher prices, higher bills, the cost-of-living crisis going on for even longer – if you like, a choke hold on our future, which will be much, much harder for us to tackle. We know some basics: Putin’s appetite for conflict and for chaos is already there, and it will only grow. And Russia is already menacing our skies, our waters, our streets and our national security." He said any peace deal would have to allow Ukraine to be “sovereign and secure”.
Sir Keir has defended his decision to offer British troops to a peacekeeping force to secure a lasting agreement. He said: “There have been settlements in Ukraine before which had not been backed up. Nobody’s defended the deal, and Putin has just crossed the line again when he wants to. That is not good for Ukraine. It’s not good for Europe and it’s not good for us.”
Mr Starmer has previously said on the need to back Ukraine: "We're facing a generational challenge when it comes to national security. Obviously, the immediate question is the future of Ukraine and we must continue to put Ukraine in the strongest possible position whatever happens next, and to make sure that if there is peace - and we all want peace - that it is lasting. I think there's a bigger piece here as well, which is that this isn't just about the front line in Ukraine. It's the front line of Europe and of the United Kingdom. It's our national security."