Zelenskyy reacts to Putin's words about ceasefire: He is essentially preparing rejection

"Right now, we have all heard very predictable and highly manipulative words from Putin in response to the idea of a ceasefire at the front — he is essentially preparing to reject it at this point," the head of the Ukrainian state noted.

Zelenskyy pointed out that Putin is afraid to directly tell Trump about his intention to continue the war and kill Ukrainians. Instead, Moscow is setting preconditions for a ceasefire that ensure "nothing works out or is delayed as long as possible."

"Putin often acts this way — he doesn't say 'no' outright but manipulates things to stall and make real solutions impossible. We see this as yet another round of Russian manipulations," the president added.

He emphasized that the US had proposed a mechanism to monitor and verify the ceasefire, which could realistically be implemented with American and European capabilities. During the ceasefire, answers could be prepared for all questions related to long-term security and real peace, as well as a plan to end the war.

"We are not setting conditions that complicate things — Russia is. As we have always said, the only side that will stall and act unconstructively is Russia. They need war. Putin has stolen years of peace and continues this war day after day," Zelenskyy clarified.

According to him, it is now crucial to pressure Russia and impose sanctions that will force it to end the war.

Putin's statement

Earlier, Russian President Vladimir Putin claimed that he "supports" the US proposal for a 30-day ceasefire between Ukraine and Russia but is concerned about certain "nuances."

Specifically, he fears that Ukraine will use this time to strengthen its military. Kremlin leader is demanding guarantees that this will not happen.

Despite this, US President Donald Trump expressed hope that Russia would "do the right thing."