In a demonstration of strong Western unity, the British, French, German, and Polish leaders made a trip to Kyiv on Saturday to meet with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy. The trip comes one day after Russian President Vladimir Putin hosted Chinese President Xi Jinping and other allies at a Victory Day military parade in Moscow celebrating the 80th anniversary of the Soviet Union’s victory over Nazi Germany.
British Prime Minister Keir Starmer, French President Emmanuel Macron, recently-appointed German Chancellor Friedrich Merz, and Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk flew together to Ukraine for the first time as a delegation. Their top agenda: calling on Russia to sign a U.S.-European plan for a 30-day ceasefire in the conflict. A French diplomatic source affirmed that although the proposal is still under negotiation, the Western allies are pushing ahead. Along with the U.S., we urge Russia to agree on a complete and unconditional 30-day ceasefire in order to leave the space open for negotiations about a just and lasting peace,” the four leaders jointly stated.
The summit comes at a diplomatically sensitive time in the war, more than three years old. U.S. President Donald Trump, who has rolled back much of his predecessor’s Ukraine policy since becoming president in January, is urging a quick peace agreement. Trump first quarreled with Kyiv by withholding military aid and publicly differing with Zelenskiy, but ties have since steadied after a complicated mineral resources deal between the two countries.
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Zelenskiy has signaled willingness to accept the proposed ceasefire. “A 30-day ceasefire would be a real sign of movement towards peace with Russia,” he said in a recent telephone call to Trump. Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov replied on Friday, saying that Russia welcomes the idea “but only taking into account ‘nuances’.
French officials think they are moving toward ‘a moment of convergence’, implying that a public declaration of either a general 30-day truce or a more partial, phased ceasefire might be imminent. “What can happen in the next hours and days, there can be a declaration of ceasefire either of 30 days or compartmentalized, which is still under discussion,” a diplomatic source said.
The Western leaders were greeted by Andriy Yermak, Zelenskiy’s chief of staff, who said, “There is a lot of work to do, a lot of topics to discuss. We must end this war with a just peace. We must force Moscow to agree to a ceasefire.” The delegation is also due to visit a central Kyiv memorial to the Ukrainian soldiers who have been killed in the war and pay their respects.
With the timing of a May 8–10 ceasefire announced unilaterally by Putin and a ‘sham’ according to Ukraine, the visit to Kyiv also seeks to strengthen a future combined coalition of air, land, sea, and post-conflict reconstruction forces. Downing Street said that the visitors will hold a video conference with other global leaders to address rebuilding Ukraine’s armed forces following any peace settlement.
At the same time, the situation remains tense on the ground. A day before the summit, the American embassy in Kyiv published a warning for an imminent ‘potentially significant’ airstrike and urged US citizens to stand ready to find cover.
As the pressure grows on Moscow, Germany’s new chancellor Friedrich Merz clearly established where responsibility will rest: “It is only there that the choice will be made whether there is a prospect, beginning this coming weekend that is to say, at the start of next week to allow for a longer ceasefire in Ukraine.”
Even as Putin flexed his muscles in Moscow, European leaders are pressing on to hold the Kremlin to account. On Friday, a number of European ministers signaled backing for the creation of a special tribunal to try Russian officials for aggression, echoing Zelenskiy’s appeal to condemn what he called a ‘parade of bile and lies’.
Now that diplomatic negotiations heat up, the focus shifts to Moscow. As Merz briefly stated it, the “ball is in Moscow’s court.”
