Zelenskiy seeks truce until meeting with Putin arranged

West Australian

2 days ago

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy has proposed implementing a ceasefire until a meeting can be arranged with Russian President Vladimir Putin.
"My proposal, which I believe our partners can support, is that we agree a ceasefire with the Russians until the leaders meet," Zelenskiy told a briefing in Kyiv.
"At this time, people will understand that the nations, Europe, Ukraine and the whole world have a chance to end the war," he said, adding that monitoring of the ceasefire could be discussed at the meeting.
Zelenskiy said Ukraine would "be grateful" for support for the idea from US President Donald Trump.
Russia has resisted calls from Ukraine and its allies for a ceasefire, saying that certain conditions must first be met.
On Wednesday Putin repeated Russia's stance that any ceasefire would simply be used by Ukraine to acquire more foreign weapons.
Putin also questioned the point of peace talks after accusing Ukraine of ordering deadly attacks on bridges in Russia that killed seven and injured 115 more.
Putin said the attacks on the bridge in Bryansk and another one in Kursk had been directed clearly against the civilian population and that the attacks were evidence that the Ukrainian government "was degenerating into a terrorist organisation, and its sponsors are becoming accomplices of terrorists".
"The current Kyiv regime does not need peace at all," Putin said at a televised meeting with senior officials.
"What is there to talk about? How can we negotiate with those who rely on terror?"
Zelenskiy said President Tayyip Erdogan of Turkey, which hosted peace talks on Monday, had expressed support for a top-level meeting of the presidents of Ukraine, Russia, the US and Turkey.
The June 2 talks in Istanbul made little progress towards ending the three-year-old war in Ukraine although the sides exchanged proposals as well as a plan for another major swap of prisoners of war.
Zelenskiy said the POW exchange would begin over the weekend.
"The Russian side has informed us that this weekend, on Saturday and Sunday, it can return 500 people," he said.
Ukrainian Defence Minister Rustem Umerov has previously said the next exchange would focus on swapping the severely wounded and the young, as well as the bodies of dead soldiers.
Zelenskiy said Ukraine had not received a Russian response to the document it shared ahead of Monday's meeting in Istanbul and he characterised the Russian proposals as ultimatums.
Zelenskiy's chief of staff Andriy Yermak said on Wednesday he met US Secretary of State Marco Rubio in Washington DC during his visit there.
"We discussed the situation at the frontline and the need to strengthen support for Ukraine in the area of air defence," he wrote on social media.
"We also shared our views on the meeting with the Russians in Istanbul, the further course of negotiations, the upcoming exchange of prisoners, and the importance of returning all hostages and children abducted by Russia."