Guardian:
Russia ‘seeking to prolong war’, says Zelenskyy as Kremlin aide says proposed ceasefire just ‘temporary respite’ for Ukraine – Europe live
Talks over ceasefire come as Russian operation to expel Kursk’s Ukrainian forces in final stage, claims Kremlin
Russian troops advance in Kursk region. Photograph: Russian Defence Ministry/Reuters
Jakub Krupa (now) with Martin Belam and Helen Sullivan (earlier)
Fri 14 Mar 2025 01.06 AEDT
23.20 AEDT
No 'meaningful' response from Russia shows they 'seek to prolong war,' Zelenskyy says
Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelenskyy has now weighed in the debate on the US proposals for ceasefire in Ukraine, accusing Russia of “seeking to prolong the war” and urging the US to “compel” Moscow to end the war.
Zelenskyy particularly stressed that “for more than a day already, the world has yet to hear a meaningful response from Russia to the proposals made.”
“This once again demonstrates that Russia seeks to prolong the war and postpone peace for as long as possible. We hope that U.S. pressure will be sufficient to compel Russia to end the war,” he said.
Here is his social media update in full:
The Ukrainian delegation provided me with a detailed report on its meeting with US representatives in Saudi Arabia, including the progress of negotiations and key aspects.
It is good that the conversation was entirely constructive. Ukraine is committed to moving quickly toward peace, and we are prepared to do our part in creating all of the conditions for a reliable, durable, and decent peace. I thank our teams for the fact that military aid and intelligence sharing resumed.
Our representatives informed the U.S. side about Ukraine’s principled positions. Ukraine was ready for an air and sea ceasefire, but the US proposed extending it to land. Ukraine welcomes this proposal. The control of such a ceasefire remains an important issue, and we appreciate the United States’ willingness to organize the technical aspects of such control.
We discussed the need to guarantee security, as well as our cooperation with European partners and further joint steps.
Regrettably, for more than a day already, the world has yet to hear a meaningful response from Russia to the proposals made. This once again demonstrates that Russia seeks to prolong the war and postpone peace for as long as possible. We hope that U.S. pressure will be sufficient to compel Russia to end the war.
Our team is prepared to continue working constructively with all partners in America, Europe, and other parts of the world who are committed to bringing peace closer. We are grateful to Saudi Arabia and personally to the Crown Prince for providing a platform for our delegations to work.Share
33m ago01.03 AEDT
Ukraine needs guarantees as Putin’s ambitions ‘are barely disguised,’ UK’s Starmer says
British prime minister Keir Starmer has said that he was “not entirely surprised” by Russia’s apparent rejection of the US-led ceasefire proposal, as he called for more work to be done by allies to put pressure on Moscow and offer Ukraine security guarantees to protect it from Putin’s “barely disguised” ambitions.
Speaking to the News Agents podcast, in a clip released on social media, Starmer said:
Well, firstly, keep our focus on a lasting and secure peace in Ukraine, which is what we all want.
It doesn’t entirely surprise me that Russia is taking this stance. They’ve made it pretty clear. They put it in lights a number of times over.
I think progress was made on Tuesday, and I always felt that and hoped that out of Tuesday that would put the ball in the Russian court, if you like, where the pressure would come on Russia. That has now happened.
That is a good thing, because Russia is the aggressor. Russia is the country that where there had been previous deals and agreements, [it] has not honoured those.
We know that Putin has ambitions that are barely disguised.
Asked about the next steps, he said:
What we need to do now is work with our allies, work with the US, work with Ukraine, and obviously I’ve got this meeting in on Saturday to bring a number of leaders together to see what further progress that we can make, but lasting secure peace with the sovereignty and security of Ukraine.
But it has to be a peace where the deal is defended, because we’ve had a deal before, and it’s not been maintained, because Russia just breaches the line.
Starmer also specifically called out Kremlin’s opposition to proposals to give Ukraine additional security guarantees:
He is saying, and he said before that he doesn’t want security guarantees in relation to the deal.
That tells you something, if you don’t intend to breach the deal, you wouldn’t have too many problems with guarantees for the deal. And we know that in the past, he’s breached the deal.
So his reaction reinforces my strong belief that if the deal is not defended with security guarantees, then he will breach it in due course.
23.20 AEDT
No 'meaningful' response from Russia shows they 'seek to prolong war,' Zelenskyy says
Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelenskyy has now weighed in the debate on the US proposals for ceasefire in Ukraine, accusing Russia of “seeking to prolong the war” and urging the US to “compel” Moscow to end the war.
Zelenskyy particularly stressed that “for more than a day already, the world has yet to hear a meaningful response from Russia to the proposals made.”
“This once again demonstrates that Russia seeks to prolong the war and postpone peace for as long as possible. We hope that U.S. pressure will be sufficient to compel Russia to end the war,” he said.
Here is his social media update in full:
The Ukrainian delegation provided me with a detailed report on its meeting with US representatives in Saudi Arabia, including the progress of negotiations and key aspects.
It is good that the conversation was entirely constructive. Ukraine is committed to moving quickly toward peace, and we are prepared to do our part in creating all of the conditions for a reliable, durable, and decent peace. I thank our teams for the fact that military aid and intelligence sharing resumed.
Our representatives informed the U.S. side about Ukraine’s principled positions. Ukraine was ready for an air and sea ceasefire, but the US proposed extending it to land. Ukraine welcomes this proposal. The control of such a ceasefire remains an important issue, and we appreciate the United States’ willingness to organize the technical aspects of such control.
We discussed the need to guarantee security, as well as our cooperation with European partners and further joint steps.
Regrettably, for more than a day already, the world has yet to hear a meaningful response from Russia to the proposals made. This once again demonstrates that Russia seeks to prolong the war and postpone peace for as long as possible. We hope that U.S. pressure will be sufficient to compel Russia to end the war.
Our team is prepared to continue working constructively with all partners in America, Europe, and other parts of the world who are committed to bringing peace closer. We are grateful to Saudi Arabia and personally to the Crown Prince for providing a platform for our delegations to work.Share
33m ago01.03 AEDT
Ukraine needs guarantees as Putin’s ambitions ‘are barely disguised,’ UK’s Starmer says
British prime minister Keir Starmer has said that he was “not entirely surprised” by Russia’s apparent rejection of the US-led ceasefire proposal, as he called for more work to be done by allies to put pressure on Moscow and offer Ukraine security guarantees to protect it from Putin’s “barely disguised” ambitions.
Speaking to the News Agents podcast, in a clip released on social media, Starmer said:
Well, firstly, keep our focus on a lasting and secure peace in Ukraine, which is what we all want.
It doesn’t entirely surprise me that Russia is taking this stance. They’ve made it pretty clear. They put it in lights a number of times over.
I think progress was made on Tuesday, and I always felt that and hoped that out of Tuesday that would put the ball in the Russian court, if you like, where the pressure would come on Russia. That has now happened.
That is a good thing, because Russia is the aggressor. Russia is the country that where there had been previous deals and agreements, [it] has not honoured those.
We know that Putin has ambitions that are barely disguised.
Asked about the next steps, he said:
What we need to do now is work with our allies, work with the US, work with Ukraine, and obviously I’ve got this meeting in on Saturday to bring a number of leaders together to see what further progress that we can make, but lasting secure peace with the sovereignty and security of Ukraine.
But it has to be a peace where the deal is defended, because we’ve had a deal before, and it’s not been maintained, because Russia just breaches the line.
Starmer also specifically called out Kremlin’s opposition to proposals to give Ukraine additional security guarantees:
He is saying, and he said before that he doesn’t want security guarantees in relation to the deal.
That tells you something, if you don’t intend to breach the deal, you wouldn’t have too many problems with guarantees for the deal. And we know that in the past, he’s breached the deal.
So his reaction reinforces my strong belief that if the deal is not defended with security guarantees, then he will breach it in due course.
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