President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has reacted to Vladimir Putin’s statement about his alleged readiness to end hostilities, calling it manipulative.
In his evening address, Zelenskyy said that Putin’s words were ‘predictable’ and actually showed his intention to avoid even a temporary ceasefire.
‘Putin, of course, is afraid to say directly to President Trump that he wants to continue this war, he wants to kill Ukrainians. That’s why they in Moscow are setting up the idea of silence with such preconditions that nothing will happen at all or that it will not happen for as long as possible,’ Zelenskyy said.
He also stressed that it is Russia that is making demands that complicate the situation, while Kyiv is not setting any additional conditions. In his opinion, it is necessary to continue to put pressure on the Kremlin, in particular through sanctions.
‘Putin has stolen years of peace and continues this war – day after day. Now we need to put pressure on him. We need to impose sanctions that will help. We will continue to work with our American partners, with European partners, with everyone in the world who wants peace to force Russia to end the war,’ Zelenskyy said.