MAJOR leaders in Europe, with the support of United States President Donald Trump, have endorsed an unconditional 30-day ceasefire in Ukraine and warned President Vladimir Putin of ‘massive’ new sanctions if he failed to comply within days.
At a meeting in Kyiv on Saturday, May 10, the leaders of Britain, France, Germany, Poland, and Ukraine agreed to begin the ceasefire on May 12, following a phone call with Trump.
“So all of us here, together with the US, are calling Putin out. If he is serious about peace, then he has a chance to show it,” British Prime Minister Keir Starmer told a press conference.
“No more ifs and buts, no more conditions and delays.”
France President Emmanuel Macron said that if the ceasefire were implemented, it would be primarily monitored by the United States, with contributions from European nations.
“In the event that the ceasefire is violated, massive sanctions will be prepared, in coordination between the Europeans and the United States,” Macron said.
The leaders who arrived in Kyiv by train said that the terms of a peace agreement would be negotiated during the 30-day ceasefire.
Shortly after the leaders made their announcement, the Kremlin seemed to dismiss it with disdain.
“We hear many contradictory statements from Europe. They are generally confrontational in nature rather than aimed at trying to revive our relations. Nothing more,” Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov said, according to the Russian news agency Interfax.
The ICIR reports that Western sanctions on Russia have been repeatedly intensified since its full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022, yet the conflict continues. However, acting on the latest threat would signal increasing Western unity after months of uncertainty in US policy following Trump’s return to the White House in January.
Zelenskiy said he and the leaders from Europe had agreed that the unconditional ceasefire must begin on Monday, encompassing air, sea, and land operations. He, however, doubted Russia’s willingness to comply.
“We have no illusions that the ceasefire will be breached,” Zelenskiy said.
By introducing new sanctions, the White House would move closer to aligning with Western Europe, which has been unsettled by a trade war triggered by Trump’s tariffs on Europe and other nations, along with his remarks suggesting he might withhold support from NATO allies that fail to meet defence spending targets.
Nanji is an investigative journalist with the ICIR. She has years of experience in reporting and broadcasting human angle stories, gender inequalities, minority stories, and human rights issues. She has documented sexual war crimes in armed conflict, sex for grades in Nigerian Universities, harmful traditional practices and human trafficking.