KYIV: The leaders of France, Britain, Germany and Poland were in Ukraine on Saturday for talks with President Volodymyr Zelensky, vowing to ratchet up pressure on Russia until it agreed a ceasefire in the three-year war.
The four countries, part of an alliance Britain and France have called “the coalition of the willing,” said in a joint statement they were “ready to support peace talks as soon as possible.”
The Kremlin has shown no signs of halting its invasion of Ukraine, despite US President Donald Trump pushing for a ceasefire, and warned earlier there could be no truce unless the West halted arms deliveries to Kyiv.
Russian President Vladimir Putin rejected a 30-day truce proposed by Washington and Kyiv in March, instead declaring two brief pauses in fighting that Ukraine has accused Moscow of violating.
On his way to Kyiv, French President Emmanuel Macron said that once a 30-day ceasefire was in place, there could be “direct talks between Ukraine and Russia.”
Both Moscow and Kyiv have hinted they are open to negotiating with each other but Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky says this would only be possible once a ceasefire takes effect.
Russia has occupied about a fifth of Ukrainian territory since February 2022 and intensified deadly attacks on the country this spring.
The US embassy in Kyiv said on Friday that a “significant air attack” could occur at some point within the next several days.
Macron, German Chancellor Friedrich Merz and British Prime Minister Keir Starmer arrived together by train from neighboring Poland, where they joined Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk.
It is the first time the leaders of the four European nations have made a joint visit to Ukraine.
They were seen embracing Zelensky and joined him in placing lanterns at a memorial for fallen soldiers in central Kyiv.
For Merz, who took office only this week, it will be his first visit to Ukraine as chancellor.
Macron had not been to Kyiv since June 2022, when he went with the Italian and German leaders of the time.
“We are clear the bloodshed must end. Russia must stop its illegal invasion,” the leaders said in a joint statement.
“Alongside the US, we call on Russia to agree a full and unconditional 30-day ceasefire to create the space for talks on a just and lasting peace.”
They warned: “We will continue to increase our support for Ukraine. Until Russia agrees to an enduring ceasefire, we will ratchet up pressure on Russia’s war machine.”
They are later scheduled to host a virtual meeting to update other European leaders on moves to create a European force that could provide Ukraine with security after the war.
Such a force “would help regenerate Ukraine’s armed forces after any peace deal and strengthen confidence in any future peace,” the leaders’ statement said.
Russia has said it will not tolerate any Western military presence in Ukraine once the fighting ends and has warned the proposal could spark war between Moscow and NATO.

PUTIN VICTORY PARADE
The symbolic show of European unity comes a day after Putin struck a defiant tone at a Moscow parade marking 80 years since victory in World War II.
In an interview with the ABC news channel on Saturday, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said arms deliveries from Ukraine’s allies would have to stop before Russia would agree to a ceasefire.
A truce would otherwise be an “advantage for Ukraine” at a time when “Russian troops are advancing... in quite a confident way” on the front, Peskov said, adding that Ukraine was “not ready for immediate negotiations.”
Europe and Ukraine argue more pressure is needed on Russia to respond.
After meeting Tusk in France on Friday, Macron called for the speedy drafting of a US-Europe plan for the 30-day truce that would be backed by “massive economic sanctions” if one side “betrays it.”
Finnish President Alexander Stubb said at a meeting on Ukraine in Norway on Friday that the “United States has two sanctions packages on the table” and that countries were discussing action in the “banking and the energy sector.”
A French presidential official, who asked not to be named, said the visit just four days after Merz took office “demonstrates Europe’s unity, strength, and responsiveness. And it mirrors Putin’s celebrations.”

BEIJING: Brazil’s president will begin a five-day trip to China on Saturday, Beijing announced, ahead of a gathering of Latin American leaders in the country next week.
Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva’s state visit comes at the invitation of counterpart President Xi Jinping and will last until Wednesday, a Chinese foreign ministry spokesperson said in a statement on Saturday.
Since returning to power in early 2023, Lula has sought to improve ties with both China and the United States.
Beijing is Brazil’s biggest trading partner. Its exports to China reached more than $94 billion last year, according to the United Nations Comtrade Database.
The South American agricultural power sends mainly soybeans and other primary commodities to China, while the Asian giant sells semiconductors, telephones, vehicles and medicines to Brazil.
The two presidents are expected to attend next week’s summit between China and the 33-member Community of Latin American and Caribbean States (CELAC).
China is seeking to replace the United States as the main political and economic external influence in Latin America, where leaders have urged a united front against President Donald Trump’s global tariff blitz.
Two-thirds of Latin American countries have joined Beijing’s trillion-dollar Belt and Road infrastructure program, and China has surpassed the United States as the biggest trading partner of Brazil, Peru and Chile, among others.