Zelenskyy demands tougher sanctions on Russia, says Putin is trying to prolong war

As Russian and U.S. officials prepared to speak about the 30-day ceasefire proposal, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy accused Russian President Vladimir Putin of looking to prolong the war.

“Putin is afraid to tell President Trump directly that he wants to continue this war and keep killing Ukrainians,” Zelenskyy wrote in a post on X. “That’s why, in Moscow, they are surrounding the ceasefire idea with such preconditions that it either fails or gets dragged out for as long as possible.”

TRUMP ‘HOPES’ PUTIN AGREES TO CEASEFIRE AS MOSCOW SIGNALS NO TRUCE YET

After Ukraine agreed to the U.S. ceasefire proposal earlier this week, Secretary of State Marco Rubio put the onus on Russia and told reporters that the “ball is now in [Russia’s] court.”

“As we have always said, the only one stalling, the only one being unconstructive, is Russia. They need this war. Putin has stolen years of peace and continues this war day after day,” Zelenskyy added. 

Now, Zelenskyy says tougher sanctions are necessary to push Putin towards making a deal and ending the bloody three-year war. While President Donald Trump told reporters he wanted peace, not sanctions, he acknowledged that the U.S. could make financial moves that are “very bad for Russia.”

“In a financial sense, yeah, we could do things, very bad for Russia. It would be devastating for Russia,” Trump told reporters in the Oval Office on Thursday while meeting with NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte. “But I don’t want to do that because I want to see peace.”

PUTIN THANKS TRUMP FOR PRINCIPLES OF CEASEFIRE PUSH, BUT DOES NOT SAY YES

On Thursday, Putin said he agreed with the U.S. plan for a 30-day ceasefire in “principle,” but signaled that Russia would not be signing onto the agreement in its current form. Ukraine agreed to the plan following talks with U.S. officials in Saudi Arabia, as long as Russia commits to the plan.

Trump said on Thursday that if Russia does not come to the table and agree to the ceasefire, “it’ll be a very disappointing moment for the world.” The president vowed throughout his campaign to end the Russia-Ukraine war, saying that if he had remained in office in 2020 the war, which began with Russia’s 2021 invasion of Ukraine, would not have started.