Ukraine and allies ready for ‘unconditional ceasefire’ as leaders visit Kyiv

Ukraine and its western allies are ready to propose an “unconditional ceasefire” in a co-ordinated move that could see the US and Europe hit Russia with harsh new sanctions if the Kremlin rejects the offer, according to people familiar with the plan.

Those people told the Financial Times that Europe and Ukraine were close to finalising the proposal with the US.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said: “The ceasefire must be comprehensive — in the air, at sea and on land. Monitoring its implementation is absolutely doable — in co-ordination from the United States, this is realistic.”

“If Russia refuses a full and unconditional ceasefire, stronger sanctions must be applied to its energy and banking sectors,” he added, listing oil, fossil fuels and its “shadow fleet” as significant targets for those measures.

“Preparations are under way for a strong 17th package of EU sanctions, which will be co-ordinated with the sanctions of the UK, Norway and the United States,” he said. 

The move comes as the leaders of France, Germany, Poland and the UK visited Kyiv to meet Zelenskyy.

Germany’s new chancellor Friedrich Merz joined French President Emmanuel Macron and British and Polish prime ministers Sir Keir Starmer and Donald Tusk in the Ukrainian capital — the quartet’s first trip since Merz became chancellor this month.

Ukrainian Foreign Minister Andriy Sybiha said the five leaders held a “productive phone conversation” with Donald Trump about “peace efforts”.

While Trump and his negotiators have been hesitant to threaten new sanctions against Russia, the people involved in the planning said that Washington had come around to considering the move.

Trump has said in recent days that he feels that Russian President Vladimir Putin could be “tapping” him along.

“If the ceasefire is not respected, the US and its partners will impose further sanctions,” Trump said on Thursday in a post on Truth Social.

The European leaders’ visit aims to show western solidarity with Zelenskyy after Putin hosted the leaders of China and Brazil at Moscow’s Victory Day parade, celebrating 80 years since the end of the second world war.

In a statement ahead of the visit, the leaders called for a 30-day ceasefire to invigorate US-led negotiations to end the war and urged Russia “to stop obstructing efforts to secure an enduring peace”.

“The bloodshed must end, Russia must stop its illegal invasion, and Ukraine must be able to prosper as a safe, secure and sovereign nation within its internationally recognised borders for generations to come,” the statement said.

In addition to the call with Trump, other global leaders who are part of what has been dubbed the “coalition of the willing” joined the five leaders in Kyiv in a virtual meeting. They discussed plans to support Ukraine’s air, land and maritime defences and help rebuild its military after any peace agreement and ensure its long-term security.

“We all know the very fine line we have been walking to maintain US involvement in the resolution of the conflict,” European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen told the virtual meeting.

“Your attempt to avoid US disengagement by concluding the minerals deal seems to have paid off,” she told Zelenskyy. “The new willingness by Donald Trump to put pressure on Russia could be a turning point.”

“The ball is now in Russia’s court and we must keep it there,” she added, referencing “further biting sanctions”.

Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov told ABC News that Putin would need to see “certain dynamics” on the battlefield change before agreeing to an extended ceasefire.

He argued that Russian forces had the momentum and that a truce was unlikely. He added that Russia would insist that western arms deliveries to Ukraine stopped before there could be a pause in fighting.

“Otherwise, it will be [an] advantage for Ukraine,” Peskov claimed. “Ukraine will continue their total mobilisation, bringing new troops to the frontline. Ukraine will use this period to train new military personnel and to give a rest to their existing ones. Why should we grant such an advantage to Ukraine?”

Trump’s proposed 30-day ceasefire has previously been backed by Kyiv but Putin never agreed to it. The Russian leader has pledged to pause attacks over holidays and on energy infrastructure, but his forces have continued to strike civilian areas in almost every region.

The European leaders said they were prepared to support talks between Ukraine and Russia and explore how a ceasefire could be implemented to “prepare for a full peace deal”. 

The EU on Friday called for “a full, unconditional ceasefire of at least 30 days” saying that it was up to Russia “to show its willingness to achieve peace”. The statement was issued by the bloc’s chief diplomat Kaja Kallas and was backed by all its 27 members, including Hungary and Slovakia, which had previously refused to sign off on such statements.

EU foreign ministers from some 20 nations travelled on Friday to the western Ukrainian city of Lviv where they declared their support for a special tribunal to prosecute senior Russian officials for war crimes carried out by Moscow’s forces during the war. The court will be established under a joint agreement between Ukraine and the Council of Europe, the continent’s top human rights body.

Additional reporting by Lucy Fisher in London