The conversation between Presidents Vladimir Putin and Donald Trump showed that Russia is not ready to make any concessions regarding Ukraine, said the head of European diplomacy Kaia Kallas, quoted by Agence France-Presse, BTA reports.
According to Kallas, Russia's demand to end Western military support for Kiev is unacceptable.
“It is clear from this conversation that Russia really does not want to make any concessions“, she told journalists in Brussels.
The head of the European Union's foreign policy added that Moscow cannot be trusted.
“If you read the two testimonies from the conversation, it is clear that... Russia really does not want to make any concessions“, Kallas said, Reuters reports.
The much-touted partial ceasefire in Ukraine brokered by Donald Trump collapsed shortly after the end of a phone call between the US president and Russian leader Vladimir Putin.
An hour after the call, in which the two leaders agreed to a very partial 30-day ceasefire, halting attacks on the "energy sector and infrastructure", 40 Russian drones crossed into Ukrainian airspace, striking civilian buildings, including a hospital in Sumy, in northeastern Ukraine, and a power substation in Slavyansk, Donetsk region.
„See? There is already an air alert, so this (ceasefire) is no longer working,” Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said on March 18.
He stressed that if Russia does not adhere to the fragile ceasefire, Ukraine will retaliate: “There will be no situation where Russia continues to shell our energy infrastructure and we will not respond. We will respond.”
During a phone call with his American counterpart yesterday, Russian President Putin agreed to temporarily halt strikes on Ukraine’s energy infrastructure for 30 days, but stopped short of a full ceasefire. Moscow has demanded a halt to Ukraine’s rearmament and an end to Western aid to Kiev — a condition that Kallas categorically rejected.
“If they manage to ban any military aid to Ukraine, they will be free to continue because the Ukrainians cannot defend themselves. So it is clear that this cannot work“, she stressed.
Shortly after the conversation between Trump and Putin and the announcement of the partial ceasefire, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky announced new Russian strikes.
Last night, warning sirens sounded in Kiev and explosions were heard. “Unfortunately, there are strikes on civilian infrastructure“, Zelensky wrote on Telegram.
Kaia Kallas announced that she would offer EU member states revised military aid to Ukraine in the amount of five billion euros, aimed at the rapid delivery of about two million artillery shells.
Her initial proposal of 40 billion euros met resistance from several member states, including France and Italy, which forced a reduction in the amount.
The new proposal will be presented to the leaders of the 27 countries at a summit in Brussels on Thursday. Kallas expressed hope for a quick agreement that would provide urgent assistance to the Ukrainian armed forces, which are experiencing an acute shortage of ammunition.