Zelensky accuses Russia of “buying time” for delicious armistice conversations

Volodymyr Zelensky accused Russia of trying to buy time “to continue its war in Ukraine, a day after Donald Trump said that the progress towards the ceasefire had been made in a call with Vladimir Putin.

“If Russia continues to offer unrealistic conditions and undermine the progress made, there must be severe consequences,” he wrote on social media, adding that Kiev is ready to negotiate.

After separate calls with Zelinski and Putin on Monday, Trump said that the truce talks between Russia and Ukraine would begin “immediately”.

Putin said he was ready to work on a “memorandum on a possible peace agreement in the future”, but he did not address calls for a temporary stop of 30 days in the fighting.

On Tuesday, the Kremlin reduced suggestions that the negotiations were close, as Russian government news agencies, Dmitry Peskov, said, “There are no final dates and cannot be there.”

Meanwhile, Zelinski launched a new round of diplomacy, which spoke to Western allies in an attempt to support support.

After a phone call with the Finnish President, Zelensky wrote on social media that Ukraine was working with partners to ensure pressure on Moscow, “The Russians are forced to change their behavior.”

This came at a time when the European Union and the United Kingdom announced that they had adopted new rounds of sanctions against Russia.

The European Union said it was included in nearly 200 other oil tankers in the Russian “Shadow Fleet”, and warned of a “tougher response” if Moscow did not agree to a truce in Ukraine.

The UK has set the sanctions of 18 other tankers, as part of its package targeting Russian military suppliers, energy exports and financial institutions.

It followed a record drone in Ukraine during the weekend, which Kiev officials described as the largest since the beginning of the comprehensive invasion.

On Monday, Trump indicated that he would not join any new sanctions on Russia, and reported that they could hinder the latest progress.

This came as heavy fighting continued along the confrontation line, as Ukraine has reported 177 clashes and demands more than 1,000 Russian victims within 24 hours.

Speaking before a meeting of the European Union ministers on Tuesday, German Defense Secretary Boris Peporius said that Russia’s ongoing attacks “occurred with a lipstick that we have heard for a long time.”

“It is clear that Putin is playing for time. Unfortunately, we have to say that he does not really care about peace,” he said.

Putin so far rejected a joint proposal between the United States of Ukrainian to a 30 -day ceasefire and Zelinski’s invitation last week refused to meet to hold talks in Istanbul. Trump offered to attend talks if Putin would be there, but the Russian leader refused.

The Kremlin has previously announced the temporary ceasefire, including from 8 to 11 May coincides with the celebrations of a victory in World War II in Russia. Kyiv refused to join the lack of confidence and demand an immediate and continuous stop in hostilities.

A 30 -hour truce on Easter witnessed a brief calmness in the fighting, although both sides accused each other with hundreds of violations.

Russia and Ukraine have been in war since Moscow launched a large -scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022.