Moscow on Monday rejected Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy’s call for a 60-day ceasefire to allow Ukraine to hold presidential elections, saying it wants a lasting peace deal rather than a temporary halt to fighting.
Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov said Russian President Vladimir Putin would nonetheless be willing to order the military not to attack Ukraine on the day of a presidential election, Russian news agency RIA reported. Zelenskyy floated the 60-day truce on Sunday; Kyiv has previously accused Moscow of breaking earlier temporary ceasefires.
“We do not want a ceasefire,” Peskov told reporters, according to The Guardian. “We want long-term peace and are prepared to do everything possible to achieve it.”
Peskov declined to give details on US President Donald Trump’s announced “energy ceasefire” between Russia and Ukraine. Zelenskyy separately accused Russia of breaching that understanding after a strike hit a thermal power plant in Kharkiv, and urged Washington to ensure Moscow honours any agreement.
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