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The leaders of France, Germany, Poland and the United Kingdom will go to kyiv on Saturday, in the midst of renewed international calls so that Russia accepts a lasting cease-fire and engages in peace talks.
The visit aims to show Western solidarity with President Volodymyr Zelenskyy after the Vladimir Putin of Russia organized the leaders of China and Brazil during the parade of the victory day of Moscow celebrating 80 years since the end of the Second World War.
The new German Chancellor, Friedrich Merz, will join French President Emmanuel Macron and the British and Polish Prime Ministers Sir Keir Starmer and Donald Tusk in the Ukrainian capital – the quartet’s first trip since Merz became chancellor earlier this month.
In a joint declaration published before the visit, the leaders called for a 30-day ceasefire to invigorate the negotiations led by the United States aimed at ending the war.
“We, the leaders of France, Germany, Poland, of the United Kingdom will stay in Kiev in solidarity with Ukraine against the Barbaric and illegal Russia Invasion of Russia,” they said, adding that they fully support the calls of American President Donald Trump to a peace agreement and urged Russia ” peace”.
“We are clear that blood effusion must end, Russia must stop its illegal invasion and Ukraine must be able to thrive as a safe, secure and sovereign nation within its internationally recognized borders for future generations.”
Zelenskyy said on Friday that Ukraine remained ready for “a reliable and lasting cease-fire for at least 30 days”.
The ceasefire offered by Trump of Trump has already been supported by kyiv but Putin never accepted it. The Russian chief undertook to suspend attacks during the holidays and energy infrastructure in Ukraine, but his forces have continued to strike civil zones in almost all regions of the country in recent months.
Missiles and ballistic drones hit Kyiv earlier this week, killing a mother and a son. This attack occurred two weeks after another on the capital of Ukraine which killed 12 and injured more than 80.
European leaders said they were ready to support talks between Ukraine and Russia and explore how a cease-fire could be implemented to “prepare for a complete peace agreement”.
People familiar with the agenda of the leaders told Financial Times on Saturday that the United States, Europe and Ukraine were about to finalize a plan for an initial unconditional ceasefire of 30 days which would see them imposing new severe sanctions on Russia if the Kremlin refused to continue and continue its full war.
Friday, the EU called to “a complete and unconditional ceasefire of at least 30 days” saying that it was to Russia “to show its will to achieve peace”. The declaration was published by the chief diplomat of the Kaja Kallas block and was supported by all its 27 members, including Hungary and Slovakia which had previously refused to sign such declarations.
The EU’s foreign ministers in around twenty countries went to the Western Ukrainian city of Lviv on Friday where they declared their support for a special court to pursue senior Russian officials for war crimes led by the forces of Moscow during the war. The court will be established under a joint agreement between Ukraine and the Council of Europe, the first body of human rights on the continent.
Friday, separately, the United Kingdom announced new sanctions against the “Shadow fleet” of Russia ships used to give birth to oil in the world while avoiding the restrictions imposed by Western countries after Putin launched its large-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022.
“Each step that limits the ability of the Kremlin to finance its war brings peace closer. The United Kingdom again demonstrates a leadership approach,” said Zelenskyy on Friday, thanking Starmer.
“If Russia continues to drag the war, we will need stronger sanctions,” said Zelenskyy. “Especially if they break the ceasefire when it finally happens.”
During their visit on Saturday, the leaders should honor the Ukrainian soldiers killed in the war and pay tribute to the place of symbolic independence of kyiv. Other European counterparts will join the practice later to discuss the plans of a coalition that will support the air defenses, the land and sea of Ukraine, and would help rebuild its soldiers after any peace agreement and ensure its long -term security.
Additional report by Lucy Fisher in London and Henry Foy in Warsaw
