European leaders and Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelensky take part in a meeting in the capital Kiev on May 10, 2025. (AFP)
Ukraine’s European allies have threatened Russia with “massive” new sanctions if President Vladimir Putin refuses to agree to a US-backed, unconditional 30-day ceasefire by Monday.
The leaders of the United Kingdom, France, Germany, and Poland, who arrived in Kiev on Saturday, said the ceasefire should be observed on land, at sea, and in the air.
French President Emmanuel Macron, new German Chancellor Friedrich Merz, and British Prime Minister Keir Starmer arrived in Ukraine’s capital together by train from neighboring Poland on Saturday. Later, they were joined by Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk.
"We have just now... decided to support a ceasefire which will begin next Monday, without any preconditions," said the French leader.
Macron said the ceasefire "will be monitored mainly" by the US, "to which all Europeans will contribute."
The truce, he added, would pave the way for "immediate work and negotiations with parties involved to build a robust and lasting peace."
"In the event of a violation of this ceasefire, we have agreed that massive sanctions will be prepared and coordinated between Europeans and Americans," Macron said.
Poland's Tusk said, "For the first time in a long time, we had a feeling that the whole free world is truly united.
"We know that the real test is before us and before Putin. We will be waiting for Russia's reaction."
Ukrainian Foreign Minister Andriy Sybiga said that the five leaders later held a "fruitful" call with President Donald Trump to update him on the results of the meeting.
European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen also expressed support for the truce, which she said "must be implemented without preconditions to pave the way for meaningful peace negotiations.”
For the past two months, Kiev has been pushing for an immediate 30-day ceasefire—something Russia has so far refused to commit to.
Moscow says it supports the idea in principle but insists there are what it calls “nuances” that need to be addressed first.
Russia slams Europe's 'confrontational' attitude
In an interview with ABC News published earlier on Saturday, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said that one of these “nuances” was putting a halt to the supply of US and European weapons to Ukraine.
Peskov also criticized Europe's "confrontational" attitude towards Russia on Saturday.
When asked about the potential for dialogue with European leaders, Peskov told the US news channel ABC that Moscow hears "contradictory statements from Europe."
"They are generally confrontational rather than oriented towards attempts to somehow resuscitate relations," he said, answering a question not directly related to the ceasefire proposal.
Peskov reiterated that Kiev's allies would have to stop arms deliveries to Ukraine before Russia would agree to a ceasefire.
A truce, he said, would otherwise be an "advantage for Ukraine" at a time when "Russian troops are advancing... in quite a confident way" on the front.
More than three years into Russia’s “special military operation” in Ukraine, Russia has gained control of about a fifth of Ukrainian territory.
Trump has said that Ukraine will have to consider giving up territory, including Crimea, which rejoined Russia following a referendum on March 16, 2014.
