President Trump, together with a number of top European leaders, issued a clear demand to Vladimir Putin: agree to a 30-day cease-fire in Ukraine starting Monday, or face heavy sanctions and expanded military backing for Ukraine.
The announcement followed high-level talks in Kyiv, where Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky hosted French President Emmanuel Macron, German Chancellor Friedrich Merz, Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk, and British Prime Minister Keir Starmer to deliberate over a U.S.-driven cease-fire initiative.
According to Zelensky, more than 30 other nations, along with officials from the European Union and NATO, joined the conference via remote link. Discussions also included plans to significantly escalate military assistance to Ukraine, with pledges of more tanks, drones, munitions, and long-range weaponry.
Following the in-person summit, and reportedly at Macron’s suggestion, the leaders placed an early-morning call to President Trump in Washington, D.C., to bring him into the loop.
“As President Trump has repeatedly stated, if both parties agree to a cease-fire, the United States will continue to help ensure longstanding peace,” a White House official told The Post, confirming the leaders’ outreach.
Zelensky characterized the conversation with Trump as “positive and concrete,” while Ukraine’s foreign minister, Andrii Sybiha, described it as a “fruitful” dialogue focused on advancing peace efforts.
President Trump had previously renewed his call for a one-month cease-fire on Thursday via a Truth Social post, warning that noncompliance would result in punitive action against Moscow.
“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,” Sybiha said in a post on X.
Zelensky emphasized that any cease-fire must be “full and unconditional,” warning that otherwise, European nations were prepared to implement sweeping new sanctions targeting Russia’s energy and financial sectors.
After the summit concluded, Prime Minister Starmer cautioned that “new and massive” sanctions would follow if Putin continued to delay. He added that it was time for “no more ifs and buts, no more conditions and delays.”
The Trump administration has grown increasingly frustrated by the lack of progress in securing peace, with Vice President JD Vance stating earlier this week that Moscow was making “unreasonable” demands—including territorial claims to regions it doesn’t control.
Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov acknowledged that Russia was open to the temporary truce, but insisted that many “nuances” still needed to be addressed.
“As soon as it was advanced by [the Trump administration], it was supported by President Putin with the reservation that it is very difficult to discuss this in detail if no answers are found to a large number of nuances around the notion of a cease-fire,” Peskov explained on Friday through Russian state media.
Even after the initial U.S.-brokered cease-fire talks held in March—talks Ukraine accepted—the Kremlin has continued launching deadly attacks. Reports indicate that since then, over 117 civilians, including at least nine children, have been killed and more than 1,000 people injured in Russian airstrikes.
Although Moscow declared a three-day unilateral cease-fire to mark Victory Day, which commemorates the end of World War II, the bombings didn’t stop. Ukrainian officials reported that Russia launched over 100 precision bombs just since Thursday.
One of those attacks struck Sumy, a northeastern city near the front lines. An 85-year-old woman lost her life, and three others were wounded. The Ukrainian Air Force noted that nearly 20 homes and 10 additional buildings were obliterated.
Elsewhere in Donetsk, two people were killed in drone attacks on Friday. Local news sources reported that the strikes also set two apartment buildings ablaze.

{Matzav.com}