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President Trump and European leaders demanded Russian strongman Vladimir Putin agree to a 30-day cease-fire with Ukraine starting Monday, or face “massive” sanctions and bolstered military support for Kyiv.
The ultimatum came Saturday out of Kyiv, where Volodymyr Zelensky sat down with the “Coalition of the Willing” — French President Emmanuel Macron, German Chancellor Friedrich Merz, Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk and UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer — to discuss the US-led cease-fire plan.
The group was also joined by leaders from more over 30 countries, the European Union and NATO who tuned in remotely, the Ukrainian president said. The talks also centered on plans to ramp up military support for Kyiv with additional tanks, drones, ammunition and long-range missiles, according to reports.
After the summit, and reportedly prompted by Macron, the group called Trump — despite it being before 7 a.m. in Washington, DC — to brief him on their position.
“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 said, confirming the call to The Post.
Zelensky said the call with Trump was “positive and concrete” and Andrii Sybiha, Ukraine’s foreign minister, said the “fruitful” conversation focused on peace efforts.
On Thursday, Trump reiterated his push for a 30-day unconditional pause to the fighting in a post on Truth Social — threatening Putin with sanctions if it wasn’t respected.
“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 added in a post on X.
Zelensky said the cease-fire must be “full and unconditional,” or else the European allies would slap additional energy and banking sanctions on Moscow.
After the Kyiv meeting, Starmer warned of the “new and massive” sanctions and said there must be “no more ifs and buts, no more conditions and delays” by Putin, who has been accused of dragging his feet in ending the three-year war.
The lack of movement on the peace talks has increasingly frustrated Trump and his foreign policy team. Vice President JD Vance said this week that Russia was asking for “too much,” including territory it hasn’t conquered yet.
Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said Russia was open to the 30-day cease-fire — but that there were “nuances” that needed to be discussed, according to state-run media.
“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 said Friday.
Since the initial US-mediated truce talks back in March, which Ukraine agreed to, the Kremlin has killed at least 117 civilians — including at least nine children — and wounded more than 1,000 in aerial attacks, according to reports.
Despite announcing a three-day unilateral cease-fire in honor of Russia’s Victory Day, which marks 80 years since the end of World War II, Moscow continued its assault on Ukraine, launching more than 100 guided aerial bombs since Thursday, according to officials.
An 85-year-old woman was killed and three others were injured in strikes on Friday in the northeastern frontline city of Sumy, the Ukrainian Air Force said. Nearly 20 residential homes and 10 other buildings were destroyed in the attack.
Two more were killed Friday by Russian drone attacks in the eastern Donetsk region, and two apartment complexes caught fire, local media reported.
With Post wires
