No ceasefire, no peace talks, says Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelenskyy

Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelensky (centre) ahead of a gathering of European leaders in Kyiv. Pic/AFP

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy on Sunday welcomed Russia's offer for direct peace talks, but insisted there must be a full, temporary ceasefire in place before negotiations can start. Zelenskyy, writing on X, called Russian President Vladimir Putin's counter-offer to start talks without a ceasefire a "positive sign", and said "the entire world has been waiting for this for a very long time".

He added, however, that "the very first step in truly ending any war is a ceasefire". Meanwhile, Russia resumed mass drone attacks in Ukraine early on Sunday, after its self-declared 3-day pause expired. Russia launched 108 attack drones and simulator drones from six different directions, Ukraine's Air Force said on Sunday. It said 60 drones were shot down and another 41 simulator drones failed to reach targets due to Ukrainian countermeasures.

The Ukrainian president appeared to insist on his proposal to start a 30-day unconditional ceasefire on Monday. "There is no point in continuing the killing even for a single day. We expect Russia to confirm a ceasefire - full, lasting, and reliable - starting tomorrow, May 12, and Ukraine is ready to meet," Zelenskyy said. Putin in remarks to the media overnight effectively rejected that ceasefire offer and proposed restarting direct talks with Ukraine in Istanbul on Thursday instead "without preconditions". He said a ceasefire might be agreed on during the negotiations.

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