Zelensky Shuts Down Calls For Immediate Ceasefire in War with Russia

Ukraine’s Volodymyr Zelensky shot down the prospect of agreeing to an immediate ceasefire with Russia despite his country being on the back foot after three years of war with a much larger adversary.

Apparently bolstered by fawning displays of support from European leaders in London on Sunday, Zelensky expressed intent to continue the war until he is satisfied with the security guarantees on offer from Western powers.

“If you don’t have an end to the war and you don’t have security guarantees, no one is able to control a ceasefire,” Zelensky said, according to the Financial Times.

The Ukrainian leader argued that Russia’s history of launching invasions after agreeing to previous cease-fires have convinced him that a meaningful deterrent would need to be in place before Kyiv stands down its forces.

“For us, security guarantees are confidence that the same things won’t happen after this hot stage [is over],” he said.

U.S. President Donald Trump has argued that previous agreements were broken under “weak” presidents like Joe Biden and Barack Obama and that a ceasefire would merely be the first step towards a broader and concrete deal between the two nations.

Zelensky said that he was made aware of plans floated by French President Macron for a month-long truce of fighting in the air, sea, and attacks on energy infrastructure, but reportedly refused to comment whether he would be amenable to the proposal.

During a summit in London on Sunday, British Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer and President Macron said that they would seek to forge a framework peace agreement with Zelensky and present it to Washington after talks broke down between President Trump and the Ukrainian leader in the Oval Office on Friday.

However, while the London summit brought over a dozen leaders together to discuss Europe’s role, they concluded, yet again, with no other nations signing onto plans from the British and French for a pan-European peacekeeping force.

While Prime Minister Starmer said that he was willing to commit British troops and planes on the ground in Ukraine, he said that such a force would need the backing of the United States, a demand that Washington has so far shut down over concerns of sparking a direct confrontation between the world’s largest nuclear powers.

Despite having left Washington early over the weekend without having signed the minerals investment agreement for which he travelled to the United States for, Zelensky said on Sunday that his government was prepared to sign the deal.

Yet it is unclear if the offer still stands. U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent told CBS on Sunday that the deal was intended as a stepping stone towards a peace agreement and that it would be pointless to sign if Zelensky “wants the fighting to continue” as President Trump “wants a peace deal.”

It also remains to be seen how stable Zelensky’s position in Kyiv will be on his return after the disastrous meeting with President Trump, which resulted in heavy criticism both at home and abroad for his Oval Office antics. Multiple European leaders and politicians urged Zelensky to mend ties with the U.S. president, but he has maintained that he will not apologise to Trump.

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