Zelenskyy Accuses Putin of Rejecting US Ceasefire Deal, Says He’s Scared of Trump

Kyiv: Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has accused Russian President Vladimir Putin of preparing to reject a ceasefire proposal put forward by Washington during talks with Kyiv in Saudi Arabia earlier this week.

The Ukrainian leader claimed that Putin is afraid to admit this directly to US President Donald Trump .

“He is, in fact, preparing a rejection at present because Putin is, of course, scared to tell President Trump that he wants to continue this war, that he wants to kill Ukrainians,” Zelenskyy said.

Zelenskyy also suggested that Putin is either trying to delay the ceasefire or avoid it altogether.

“That’s why, in Moscow, they are imposing conditions on the ceasefire—so that nothing happens at all, or so that it cannot happen for as long as possible,” he added.

The Ukrainian leader further slammed his Russian counterpart of being “manipulative”.

“Putin does this often he doesn’t say ‘no’ outright, but he drags things out and makes reasonable solutions impossible. We see this as yet another round of Russian manipulation,” he stated.

Zelenskyy insisted that Ukraine was not complicating the situation, but Russia is.

“We do not set conditions that complicate anything. Russia does that. As we have always said, the only one who will drag things out, the only one who will be unconstructive, is Russia,” he added.

Zelenskyy also confirmed that Ukraine had agreed to accept the unconditional deal and that the United States was ready to organize monitoring and verification of the ceasefire.

The Ukrainian leader emphasized that a ceasefire would allow time to “prepare answers to all questions regarding long-term security and a real, reliable peace, and put on the table a plan to end the war.”

He vowed to continue working with US and European partners to end the war.

“We will continue working with our American and European partners and with everyone in the world who wants peace to force Russia to end this war.”

His comments came after the US and Ukrainian delegations held bilateral talks in Jeddah on Tuesday to discuss a ceasefire.

Following the meeting, a joint statement declared that Ukraine was ready to accept a 30-day ceasefire proposed by Washington.

Putin’s Response

Putin expressed concerns over the 30-day ceasefire proposed by the United States, stating that he had “serious questions” about the proposal. However, he said that Moscow was ready to discuss it with US President Donald Trump.

The Russian leader stated that he was “for” the proposal but emphasized that it required more detailed work. He also stressed that the ceasefire should lead to “long-term peace.”

“We agree with the proposals to cease hostilities,” Putin told reporters at the Kremlin. “The idea itself is correct, and we certainly support it.”

Putin also raised the need to outline mechanisms for controlling possible violations of the truce and sought guarantees that Ukraine would not use the cessation of hostilities to rearm and continue mobilization.

“But we proceed from the fact that this cessation should be such that it would lead to long-term peace and would eliminate the original causes of this crisis,” Putin added.

Trump Reacts to Putin’s Remarks

Addressing Russia’s latest remarks on the ceasefire, Trump called Putin’s statement “very promising but not complete.”

“Hopefully, Russia will do the right thing,” he said.

He expressed hope that Russia would take the necessary steps toward peace.