European Leaders in Kyiv Remembering Fallen, Calling for Peace (Worthy News Radio)
By Stefan J. Bos, Chief International Correspondent Worthy News
KYIV/BUDAPEST (Worthy News) – European leaders visited Kyiv on Saturday to discuss the road toward peace between Ukraine and Russia, and to remember the fallen soldiers. Their visit came a day after Russia remembered the Soviet Union’s victory over Nazi Germany.
The leaders converged in Kyiv, realizing that more than a million people are believed to have been killed and injured since Russia launched its full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022.
British Prime Minister Keir Starmer, French President Emmanuel Macron, recently elected German Chancellor Friedrich Merz, and Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk placed votive candles at the National Memorial of Remembrance at Kyiv’s Independence Square.
They were accompanied by Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and First Lady Olena Zelenska, whose nation has faced a devastating war that wiped out generations.
The European leaders’ trip to Kyiv was in response to Russian President Vladimir Putin hosting allies in a Victory Day parade on Red Square to remember the 80th anniversary of the Soviet Union’s victory of Nazi Germany.
In a statement, they said that “We, the leaders of France, Germany, Poland and the United Kingdom, will stand in Kyiv in solidarity with Ukraine against what they called ‘Russia’s barbaric and illegal full-scale invasion.”
However, they saw some hope, making what was described as a joint “fruitful” phone call to U.S. President Donald J. Trump to discuss plans for a peace settlement.
DIRECT TALKS
French president Macron called Saturday for “direct talks” between Ukraine and Russia in the event of a ceasefire in Moscow’s three-year invasion.
He said that if there were a 30-day ceasefire, France and others would be ready to help achieve direct talks between Ukraine and Russia.
Macron and the other European leaders in Kyiv were to reiterate calls for a month-long truce, which President Trump suggested could be the first step toward a sustainable peace deal.
Ukrainian Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha said that Ukraine and its allies “are ready for a full unconditional ceasefire on land, air, and at sea for at least 30 days starting already on Monday.”
He added, “If Russia agrees and effective monitoring is ensured, a durable ceasefire and confidence-building measures can pave the way to peace negotiations.”
Russia has so far refused, but international pressure is mounting on Moscow to join the road to peace, something late Pope Francis had often been praying for.
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