Kyiv to work on a ceasefire plan ‘in the coming 10 days’

Zelensky calls on Trump to ramp up the pressure on Russia

- JAMES C. REYNOLDS

Volodymyr Zelensky says Ukraine will work on a plan for a ceasefire with Russia “in the coming 10 days” - as Donald Trump rebuked Vladimir Putin over the test-firing of a nuclear-powered missile.

The Ukrainian president urged Mr Trump to go further in his support for Kyiv after Washington imposed tough sanctions on major Russian oil companies last week.

Mr Zelensky said he welcomed the decision to hit Rosneft and Lukoil with sanctions but said Putin would not be moved to the negotiating table without even more "pressure".

"President Trump is concerned about escalation," Mr Zelensky told Axios. "But I think that if there are no negotiations, there will be an escalation anyway. I think that if Putin doesn't stop, we need something to stop him. Sanctions is one such weapon, but we also need long-range missiles."

"We speak not only about Tomahawks. The US has a lot of similar things that doesn't require much time for training. I think the way to work with Putin is only through pressure," he added.

Mr Zelensky said Ukraine and its allies had decided to proactively work on a plan for a ceasefire “in the next week or 10 days”.