Ukraine and its European allies are open to a 30-day cease-fire agreement to halt its war against Russia as the U.S. attempts to broker a peace deal.
Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelensky met with several of his European counterparts in Kyiv Saturday to discuss the possible cease-fire plan. The group subsequently called President Donald Trump to brief him on the meeting and the peace talks.
“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,” Ukrainian foreign affairs minister Andrii Sybiha said on X.
“If Russia agrees and effective monitoring is ensured, a durable ceasefire and confidence-building measures can pave the way to peace negotiations.”
Earlier this week, Trump threatened fresh sanctions on Russia and demanded a fresh cease-fire to advance more lasting peace talks.
“Hopefully, an acceptable ceasefire will be observed, and both Countries will be held accountable for respecting the sanctity of these direct negotiations. If the ceasefire is not respected, the U.S. and its partners will impose further sanctions,” Trump said on Truth Social.
“As President, I will stay committed to securing Peace between Russia and Ukraine, together with the Europeans, and a Lasting Peace it will be! This ceasefire must ultimately build toward a Peace Agreement.”
Vice President JD Vance, speaking at a Munich Security Conference event in Washington, D.C. earlier this week, said the Russians were demanding too many concessions and suggested they were not interested in a 30 day ceasefire.
“Right now the Russians are asking for a certain set of requirements, a certain set of concessions in order to end the conflict. We think they’re asking for too much,” Vance said.
Trump and his officials previously floated the possibility of abandoning the peace talks if negotiations continued to yield little progress.
Last month, Russia announced a three day temporary truce to celebrate on May 9 the 80th anniversary of Nazi Germany’s surrender to the Soviet Union during World War II. The Kremlin made a similar announcement leading up to Easter, but both sides accused each other of violating the pause thousands of times.
After Easter, Russia resumed its heavy military campaign against Ukraine with a barrage of missiles and drone strikes on Kyiv, leading to strong condemnation from President Trump, who raised the possibility of sanctions on Russian strongman Vladimir Putin’s regime.
Trump’s frustration towards Putin came after he and Zelensky had an intimate meeting in the Vatican last month when they both came to St. Peter’s Basilica for the late Pope Francis’s funeral Mass. The conversation appeared quite amicable compared to the shocking blowup between Trump, Vance, and Zelensky inside the Oval Office in February.
Weeks later, Ukraine and the U.S. agreed to a 30 day ceasefire deal that Russia flagrantly rejected amid peace talks. At the start of May, the U.S. and Ukraine agreed to a long term minerals deal giving the U.S. access to Ukraine’s abundance of rare earth minerals in exchange for a security guarantee protecting it from Russian aggression.
The war in Ukraine began over three years ago when Putin launched a full-scale invasion of Ukraine seeking to annex Russia’s smaller neighbor. President Trump has asserted countless times it would not have happened if he were in office and it will end under his watch.