Russia rejects ceasefire and threatens Ukraine with tougher strikes
Photo: Sergey Lavrov, Russian Foreign Minister (Getty Images)
Russia has no plans to freeze hostilities along the entire front line or agree to a ceasefire with Ukraine, says Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov.
"For Russia, a halt along the line of contact is unacceptable—it would negate the heroic deeds of our grandfathers and great-grandfathers who defeated Nazism. This is out of the question," Lavrov says.
Moreover, the Russian diplomat claims that a halt should only occur when there is a long-term, reliable, and sustainable settlement.
Against this backdrop, Lavrov threatens that Russia will intensify its efforts to destroy everything that fuels Ukraine's military machine from its allies.
"We're already doing this, and they're already starting to groan. And it's no coincidence that more and more voices from across our shared space are calling for an immediate halt. It won't work that way," the Russian foreign minister adds.
What Ukraine might have offered Russia
According to Sky News, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy's team allegedly sent the Kremlin a proposal for a mutual ceasefire on strikes against civilian targets in the Black Sea.
However, Kyiv has not yet officially confirmed or denied this information.
According to journalists, the proposal from Zelenskyy's team came at the same time as reports that the US is trying to persuade Ukraine to scale back its strikes on Russian ports.
Incidentally, US Vice President JD Vance personally asked Zelenskyy to stop attacks on Russian tankers in the Black Sea.
