Moscow [Russia], May 21: Volodymyr Zelensky has accused Russia of "trying to buy time" to continue its war in Ukraine, a day after Donald Trump said progress towards a ceasefire had been made in a call with Vladimir Putin.
"If Russia continues to put forward unrealistic conditions and undermine progress, there must be tough consequences," Ukraine's president wrote on social media, adding that Kiev was ready to negotiate.
Following separate calls with Zelensky and Putin on Monday, Trump said truce talks between Russia and Ukraine would start "immediately". Putin said he was ready to work on a "memorandum on a possible future peace agreement", but did not address calls for a 30-day pause in fighting.
On Tuesday, Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said it was up to Kiev to "make decisions" and respond to a proposed peace memorandum. However, the Kremlin downplayed suggestions that negotiations were close, with Russian state news agencies citing spokesperson Dmitry Peskov as saying "there are no deadlines and there cannot be any".
Meanwhile, Zelensky launched a fresh round of diplomacy, speaking to Western allies in a bid to shore up support.
Following a phone call with the Finnish president, Zelensky wrote on social media that Ukraine was working with partners to ensure pressure on Moscow "forces the Russians to change their behaviour".
It came as the European Union and UK announced that they had adopted new rounds of sanctions against Russia.
It followed a record drone assault in Ukraine over the weekend, which Kyiv officials described as the largest since the start of the full-scale invasion.
On Monday, Trump indicated he would not join in any new sanctions on Russia, telling reporters that they could hinder recent progress.
It came as heavy fighting continued along the front line, with Ukraine reporting 177 clashes and claiming over 1,000 Russian casualties in 24 hours.
Speaking ahead of a meeting of EU ministers on Tuesday, German Defence Minister Boris Pistorius said Russia's continued attacks "speak louder than the lip service we have heard for so long".
"Putin is clearly playing for time. Unfortunately, we have to say he is not really interested in peace," he said.
Source: Qatar Tribune
