European leaders are trying to join forces with Trump and pressure Putin for a ceasefire in Ukraine.

BarcelonaThe leaders of France, the United Kingdom, Germany, and Poland traveled to Kiev this Saturday to once again demonstrate their support for Ukraine and try to redouble the pressure on Vladimir Putin to accept a one-month ceasefire that they want to begin this Monday. They also closed ranks to try to gain influence over Donald Trump, who since returning to the White House, has disdained Europe's role in the negotiations to achieve peace.

French President Emmanuel Macron; British Prime Minister Keir Starmer; the new German Chancellor, Friedrich Merz; and Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk have arrived in the Ukrainian capital, all together by train, to meet with the president of the war-torn country, Volodymyr Zelensky, and from there hold a meeting of the so-called Coalition of the Volunteers. It is the group made up of countries working on the possible creation of a military peacekeeping contingent to be deployed in Ukraine once the war is over to deter Russia from launching another invasion.

"We have agreed that a complete and unconditional ceasefire of at least 30 days must begin starting Monday, May 12. We jointly ask Russia for this," Zelensky said at a press conference with the four European leaders. Both the Ukrainian president and Donald Trump have proposed a one-month truce to Putin, who has so far rejected him and has only imposed truces of a few hours at times of interest to them. Such as the 72-hour strike announced unilaterally by Putin, which began on Thursday to commemorate Victory Day in Russia, coinciding with the 80th anniversary of the Soviet victory over the Nazis.

Macron recalled that Ukraine had already agreed to lay down its weapons for a month on March 11, while accusing Russia of setting conditions to "buy time" and continue the war. Merz threatened a "drastic" increase in sanctions against Russia if Putin does not accept the agreement. He also asserted that Ukraine's main European allies are acting in coordination with Trump. "We know that we have the support of the United States," Zelensky stressed.

The Ukrainian government reported that, following the meeting of the Coalition of the Willing, the five leaders held a telephone conversation with the President of the United States. Ukrainian Foreign Minister Andri Sibiha called the call "fruitful" and reiterated that Kiev and its allies are ready for a comprehensive and unconditional ceasefire on land, sea, and air for at least 30 days. "If Russia agrees and effective verification is ensured, a lasting ceasefire and confidence-building measures can pave the way for negotiations," he added.

Macron explained that the US will verify compliance with the ceasefire if Russia accepts it. If Moscow violates it, he said that "massive sanctions" coordinated between Europe and Washington will be approved.

The Kremlin says it is not afraid

From the Kremlin, the message is that it is not afraid of future sanctions: "We have become accustomed to sanctions. We are even imagining what we will do after they are announced and how we will minimize their consequences. We have already learned," said Russian government spokesman Dmitry Peskov on state television. And he concluded: "Scaring us with sanctions is a waste of time."

Moscow demands that allies stop sending weapons to Ukraine as a condition for declaring a temporary ceasefire. But Starmer has made it clear that Kiev's Western allies reject that condition.

Trump loses patience

This Saturday's call between European leaders and Trump is yet another sign that the US president is losing patience with Russia, with which he had clearly and publicly aligned himself at the start of his second term. The Republican had promised to end the war in Ukraine during his first 100 days in office, something that is now behind him. This Friday night, he was blunt with Moscow and Kiev: "I have a message for both sides: end that stupid war," he said from the Oval Office.

After the historic attack on the White House Between Trump, his vice president JD Vance and Zelensky, the presidents of the United States and Ukraine have been smoothing out differences and ten days ago they signed the agreement for the US to exploit critical Ukrainian minerals. This Thursday, the two leaders held a call that the White House described as "very good and productive," while expressing its hope that the US president's proposal for a 30-day truce will be accepted by both Kiev and Moscow.

This Saturday, in the first public reaction from the US to the European leaders' statements from Kiev, Trump's special representative for Ukraine, Keith Kellogg, shared on X the message from the Ukrainian foreign minister in which he summarized the conclusions of the meeting and insisted on the truce.