Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelensky speaks in Kyiv, August 4, 2024
Sunday’s Coverage: Putin Rejects 30-Day Ceasefire, Attacks Kyiv with Drones
Map: Institute for the Study of War
UPDATE 1722 GMT:
Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelensky has welcomed Donald Trump’s indication that he might join the meeting of Zelensky and Vladimir Putin in Istanbul on Thursday.
All of us in Ukraine would appreciate it if President Trump could be there with us at this meeting in Türkiye. This is the right idea. We can change a lot.
I have just heard President Trump's statement. Very important words.
I supported @POTUS idea of a full and unconditional ceasefire — long enough to provide the foundation for diplomacy. And we want it, we are ready to uphold silence on our end.
I supported President Trump…
— Volodymyr Zelenskyy / Володимир Зеленський (@ZelenskyyUa) May 12, 2025
Zelensky also spoke with Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan to “discuss key details of the meeting…which could help bring an end to the war”. He expressed gratitude for Erdoğan’s “support and readiness to facilitate diplomacy at the highest level”.
UPDATE 1545 GMT:
The European Union is allocating €900 million ($1 billion), from profits of frozen Russian assets, to fund weapons and ammunition for Ukraine.
The tranche will support Ukranian sectors such as drone and missile production. It brings recent EU defense support for Ukraine to €3.3 billion ($3.6 billion).
UPDATE 1534 GMT:
Speaking to reporters in the White House, Donald Trump has suggested he could join Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelensky and Vladimir Putin in a meeting in Istanbul on Thursday.
You may have a good result out of the Thursday meeting in Turkey … and I believe the two leaders are going to be there. I was thinking about flying over. I don’t know where I am going be on Thursday, I’ve got so many meetings….There’s a possibility there I guess if I think things can happen.
UPDATE 1529 GMT:
European foreign ministers have said, after their meeting in London, that “Russia has not shown any serious intent to make progress” to halt its 38 1/2-month invasion of Ukraine.
Saying Moscow “must do so without delay”, the group — from the European Union, France, Germany, Italy, Poland, Spain, and the UK — said they will “pursue ambitious measures to reduce Russia’s ability to wage war by limiting Kremlin revenues”.
The ministers restated their commitment to “robust” security guarantees for Kyiv, “exploring the creation of a coalition of air, land and maritime reassurance forces that could help create confidence in any future peace and support the regeneration of Ukraine’s armed forces”.
UPDATE 1330 GMT:
The Kremlin has finally responded to the Ukraine-Europe call for a 30-day ceasefire without conditions.
Spokesperson Dmitry Peskov said, “The language of ultimatums is unacceptable to Russia, it is not appropriate. You cannot talk to Russia in such a language.”
Earlier German Government spokesperson Stefan Kornelius said the “clock is ticking” for Russia to agree by the end of Monday to the ceasefire.
If Moscow did not accept, “preparations will be set in motion” for fresh sanctions.
UPDATE 1322 GMT:
Ukraine Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha has reported from the meeting of European foreign ministers in London.
Sybiha noted “Russians are completely ignoring the offer of a full and durable ceasefire” and “continue to attack Ukrainian positions all along the frontline”.
“Moscow squanders another opportunity to put an end to the killings. This once again demonstrates that Russia’s only goal is to prolong the war,” he summarized.
The Foreign Minister said, as a result, European colleagues were discussing new sanctions on Russia’s “banking, central bank, and energy sectors” and new military aid packages to Ukraine.
“Putin must understand the consequences of rejecting peace efforts and continuing the war,” he emphasized.
Building on President @ZelenskyyUA's previous contacts, I had a constructive collective call with my colleagues from France @JNBarrot, Germany @AussenMinDE, Poland @SikorskiRadek, the United Kingdom @DavidLammy, the United States @SecRubio, and the European Union @KajaKallas.
It…
— Andrii Sybiha (@andrii_sybiha) May 12, 2025
UPDATE 1017 GMT:
One civilian has been killed and at least 22 injured by Russian attacks across Ukraine over the past 24 hours.
Air defenses downed 55 of 108 Russian drones, and 30 were lost to electronic counter-measures.
One person was slain and three wounded by a Russian drone strike on a power company vehicle in the Sumy region in northeast Ukraine.
Casualties were reported in the Donetsk, Odesa, Kharkiv, Dnipropetrovsk, and Zaporizhzhia regions.
Overnight, Russian drones struck a school in Ukraine located just over 10 km (6 miles) from the Russian border.
Students at this school in Chernihiv Oblast are forced to study remotely.
The attack damaged the building but no one was reported injured.
Governor of Chernihiv… pic.twitter.com/GJKFJWhyuO
— Euromaidan Press (@EuromaidanPress) May 12, 2025
UPDATE 0946 GMT:
Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelensky has had “a very warm and truly substantive” conversation with Pope Leo XIV.
Zelensky thanked the Pope, who was elected last Thursday, for his Sunday blessing “about the need to achieve a just and lasting peace”. The men spoke about the tens of thousands of Ukrainian children abducted by Russia, wih Zelensky requesting the Vatican’s “assistance in bringing them home to their families”.
Zelensky invited the pontiff to come to Ukraine, as “such a visit would bring real hope to all believers and to all our people”.
I spoke with Pope Leo XIV. It was our first conversation, but already a very warm and truly substantive one.
I thanked His Holiness for his support of Ukraine and all our people. We deeply value his words about the need to achieve a just and lasting peace for our country and the… pic.twitter.com/4ocbA7jnMK
— Volodymyr Zelenskyy / Володимир Зеленський (@ZelenskyyUa) May 12, 2025
UPDATE 0941 GMT:
Poland has ordered the closure of the Russian Consulate in Kraków, after an investigation found Moscow’s secret services were behind a fire in May 2024 that destroyed a large shopping centre in Warsaw (see 0229 GMT).
Polish Foreign Minister Radoslaw Sikorski said at a meeting with European colleagues in London, “This is completely unacceptable, so the Russian consultate will have to leave….If these attacks continue, we will take further action.”
UPDATE 0915 GMT:
At the European meeting in London, foreign ministers have reiterated that Russia must agree to a 30-day ceasefire and then enter discussions with Ukraine.
Germany’s Johann Wadephul said Berlin “expects Russia to agree to a ceasefire and then be prepared to negotiate”.
France’s Jean-Noël Barrot called for “an unconditional truce in air, sea, ground for 30 days”:
President Zelensky has shown time and time again, that he is open to negotiation that he wants diplomacy that he wants peace….Meanwhile, Putin’s only response has been more bombing.
Both men said “massive sanctions” should be imposed if the Kremlin did not halt its invasion. Wadephul said Germany is ready to offer further arms packages to Kyiv.
The European Union’s foreign policy head Kaja Kallas told attendees, “We have to put pressure on Russia to really want peace and to sit down and to talk with Ukraine….If they are continuing bombing Ukraine all the time, if there’s no ceasefire, there can’t be talks under fire.”
Polish Foreign Minister Radoslaw Sikorski added that if Putin “again rejects” the ceasefire, “then the logical conclusion is that pressure should be brought to bear not on the victim of aggression, but on the perpetrator of aggression, until he feels the pain and becomes more reasonable”.
UPDATE 0854 GMT:
US Secretary of State Marco Rubio has told UK Foreign Secretary David Lammy that the Trump Administration’s “top priority remains bringing an end to the fighting and an immediate ceasefire”.
The statement effectively pulls back Donald Trump’s social media post (see Original Entry) that the priority is a direct Ukraine-Russia meeting in Istanbul on Thursday: “Ukraine should agree to this, immediately.”
That post had undermined the line of the US envoy to Ukraine, Keith Kellogg, “Unconditional 30 day ceasefire first and, during it, move into comprehensive peace discussions. Not the other way around.”
Lammy, speaking before a meeting of European foreign ministers in London, said, “This is the time for Vladimir Putin to get serious about peace in Europe, to get serious about a ceasefire, and to get serious about talks.”
UPDATE 0229 GMT:
Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk says Russian secret services were behind a massive fire that almost destroyed a Warsaw shopping center in May 2024.
Commenting after a year of investigation, Tusk posted:
We now know for sure that the great fire of the Marywilska shopping centre in Warsaw was caused by arson ordered by the Russian special services. Some of the perpetrators have already been detained, all the others are identified and searched for. We will get you all!
— Donald Tusk (@donaldtusk) May 11, 2025
ORIGINAL ENTRY: Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelensky has challenged Vladimir Putin to observe a 30-day ceasefire, and then meet him in Turkey on Thursday for discussions to end Russia’s 38 1/2-month invasion.
Zelensky said in his nightly video address to the nation:
Starting tomorrow, we await a ceasefire — this proposal is on the table. A full and unconditional ceasefire, one that lasts long enough to provide a necessary foundation for diplomacy, could significantly bring peace closer. Ukraine has long proposed this, our partners are proposing it, and the whole world is calling for it. We await a clear response from Russia.
He added, “We have repeatedly heard from our partners that they are prepared to strengthen sanctions against Russia if Putin rejects a ceasefire. Time will tell.”
Starting tomorrow, we await a ceasefire — this proposal is on the table. A full and unconditional ceasefire, one that lasts long enough to provide a necessary foundation for diplomacy, could significantly bring peace closer. Ukraine has long proposed this, our partners are… pic.twitter.com/TVpJbldfh4
— Volodymyr Zelenskyy / Володимир Зеленський (@ZelenskyyUa) May 11, 2025
Early Sunday, Putin rejected the ceasefire initiative of Ukraine and its European partners — Poland, France, Germany, and the UK. Then he tried to regain the diplomatic advantage by proposing direct talks in Istanbul on Thursday about “the restoration of a long-term, lasting peace” if certain conditions are met.
Zelensky turned Putin’s move against the Russian leader:
I expect Putin to come to Türkiye as well. Personally. And I hope that this time, Putin won’t be looking for excuses as to why he “can’t” make it.
The President did not indicate if his presence in Istanbul was conditional on Putin’s acceptance of a ceasefire.
The Kremlin has not responded to Zelensky’s challenge.
Ceasefire First, Then Talks
European leaders emphasized throughout Sunday that the Kremlin must agree to halt its attacks before the direct talks started.
German Chancellor Friedrich Merz said, “We expect Moscow to agree to a ceasefire that allows real talks to take place. First the weapons must be silenced, then the discussions can begin.”
Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk, who was also in Kyiv with Zelensky on Saturday, wrote, “The world, however, іs waiting for a univocal decision on an immediate and unconditional ceasefire. Ukraine is ready. No more victims!”
And French President Emmanuel Macron insisted on “the necessity for a ceasefire”, as the Élysée Palace said he had spoken to Merz, Tusk, and UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer as well as Zelensky and Donald Trump.
Trump’s envoy Keith Kellogg posted, “An unconditional 30 day ceasefire first and, during it, move into comprehensive peace discussions. Not the other way around.”
However, in another abrupt intervention later on Sunday, Trump undermined his envoy and the Europeans:
Putin…doesn’t want to have a ceasefire agreement with Ukraine, but rather wants to meet on Thursday, in Turkey, to negotiate a possible end to the bloodbath. Ukraine should agree to this, immediately.
At least they will be able to determine whether or not a deal is possible, and if it is not, European leaders, and the U.S., will know where everything stands, and can proceed accordingly!”
Trump tilted once more towards blame of Kyiv: “I’m starting to doubt that Ukraine will make a deal with Putin, who’s too busy celebrating the Victory of World War II….Have the meeting, now!”