As Russian and U.S. officials prepared to speak about the 30-day ceasefire proposal, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy accused Russian President Vladimir Putin of looking to prolong the war.
"Putin is afraid to tell President Trump directly that he wants to continue this war and keep killing Ukrainians," Zelenskyy wrote in a post on X. "That’s why, in Moscow, they are surrounding the ceasefire idea with such preconditions that it either fails or gets dragged out for as long as possible."
After Ukraine agreed to the U.S. ceasefire proposal earlier this week, Secretary of State Marco Rubio put the onus on Russia and told reporters that the "ball is now in [Russia’s] court."
"As we have always said, the only one stalling, the only one being unconstructive, is Russia. They need this war. Putin has stolen years of peace and continues this war day after day," Zelenskyy added.
Right now, we have all heard from Russia Putin’s highly predictable and manipulative words in response to the idea of a ceasefire on the front lines—at this moment he is, in fact, preparing to reject it.
— Volodymyr Zelenskyy / Володимир Зеленський (@ZelenskyyUa) March 13, 2025
Of course, Putin is afraid to tell President Trump directly that he wants… pic.twitter.com/SWbYwMGA46
