Zelensky rejects Putin's ceasefire, warns of ongoing Russian threat

- Russian President Vladimir Putin's ceasefire proposal is an ultimatum and cannot be trusted - said the Ukrainian president. Volodymyr Zelensky warned that the Russian dictator would not stop the offensive, even if his demands were met. Putin stated on Friday at a meeting with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs leadership in Moscow that the Russian army would cease fire if Ukrainian troops withdrew from the territories annexed by Russia and Kyiv committed to not joining NATO.

Zelensky called Putin's proposal to end the war on his terms an "ultimatum" and his actions "a revival of Nazism." The message of the ultimatum posed by the Russian leader is no different from earlier ones, emphasized the Ukrainian president.

- These are ultimatum messages that are no different from the messages given in the past. He will not stop. He wants us to give up some of our occupied territories, but he also wants our unoccupied territories. He talks about the regions of our country, he does not stop. There will be no frozen conflict. This is what Hitler did when he said - added Zelensky.

Putin’s "offer" also drew a reaction from the Ukrainian Ministry of Foreign Affairs, emphasizing that he has only one goal: to prevent leaders and countries from participating in the summit in Switzerland regarding peace in Ukraine.

"Putin issued another series of manipulative statements aimed at misleading the international community, undermining diplomatic efforts to achieve a just peace, and dividing the global majority united around the goals and principles of the United Nations Charter," the Ministry of Foreign Affairs said in a statement.

"It is absurd for Putin, who planned, prepared, and executed, together with his accomplices, the largest armed aggression in Europe since the Second World War, to present himself as a peacemaker and to put forward options for ending the war he started that undermine the foundations of the international legal order and the UN Charter," the Ministry of Foreign Affairs stressed.

They emphasized that this is not Putin's first ultimatum and "there is nothing new in these regular statements."

According to the ministry, the appearance of Putin's statements just a day before the conference in Switzerland shows that Russia fears real peace. The ministry expressed confidence that all countries genuinely striving to restore peace in Ukraine know the true motives behind the Russian statements and will not be misled.

The statement emphasized that Putin does not seek peace. He seeks to divide the world. Russia's plans do not concern peace but the continuation of the war, the occupation of Ukraine, the destruction of the Ukrainian nation, and further aggression in Europe.

According to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Ukraine needs a strong and effective international coalition of countries that share the principles of just peace, to which Russia will fully adhere.

"The participation of as many countries and international organizations as possible in the inaugural Global Peace Summit is critical to forcing Russia to abandon ultimatums and move to good-faith negotiations to end the war, rather than propaganda statements under the guise of horrific missile attacks on Ukraine," the ministry concluded.