Peskov: “I don’t think Zelensky has earned a ceasefire” — Kremlin rejects 60-day truce

Russia has effectively rejected Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky’s proposal for a 60-day ceasefire.

This was stated by Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov.

According to Peskov, Russia wants not a ceasefire but a lasting peace, and Moscow is prepared to do everything toward that end. He also expressed gratitude to American negotiators for their efforts on the Ukrainian track.

At the same time, Peskov allowed that Putin is ready to issue an order to halt strikes on Ukraine on election day. However, the 60 days demanded by Zelensky, he said, are needed by the Ukrainian president not for holding elections at all.

“The 60 days that Zelensky is demanding are needed by him not to hold elections, but to regroup, lick his wounds, and continue the war,” the Kremlin spokesman said.

Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov spoke even more bluntly:

“I don’t think Zelensky has earned a ceasefire,” Lavrov said.

Zelensky had previously stated that Ukraine would hold elections if the Kremlin chief agreed to a 60-day ceasefire. The statement came after U.S. President Donald Trump called on Ukrainians to elect a new leader. Trump himself explained his remarks by saying that Zelensky, in his view, does not want to reach an agreement. Kremlin special envoy Kirill Dmitriev called Trump’s appeal to Ukrainians “historic” and “significant,” RBC-Ukraine reported.

The Institute for the Study of War (ISW) believes that Russia is exploiting the fact that Ukraine cannot hold elections during wartime and is dragging out the negotiations. According to analysts, Moscow could refuse to allow elections indefinitely if it agrees to a ceasefire.