Overview
- In a joint statement, Volodymyr Zelensky and leaders from Germany, France, the UK, Italy, Denmark, Poland and Norway endorsed using the current contact line as the starting point for talks and called for an immediate stop to the fighting.
- The signatories said Ukraine must be in the strongest possible position before, during and after any truce, and they signaled plans to leverage frozen Russian state assets to sustain Kyiv.
- The Kremlin rejected any front‑line freeze, with spokesman Dmitry Peskov and Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov calling such a ceasefire unacceptable for Moscow.
- Preparatory diplomacy faltered as a planned meeting between US Secretary of State Marco Rubio and Russia’s Sergei Lavrov was delayed, casting doubt on a Trump–Putin session in Budapest that Hungary has offered to host despite Putin’s ICC warrant.
- EU cohesion is under strain, with Slovakia vetoing a 19th sanctions package targeting LNG and Russia’s shadow fleet, though leaders aim to break the deadlock at this week’s Brussels summit.