Kremlin Rejects Ukraine’s Proposal for 60-Day Ceasefire

The Kremlin has rejected Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky’s proposal for a full 60-day ceasefire, an initiative intended to create conditions for a presidential election in the country.

Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said on Monday that Russia wants a lasting peace agreement instead of a temporary ceasefire. He added that the Russian president and officials in the country have previously stressed that Moscow does not want a temporary truce and is ready to work toward long-term peace.

In an interview with ABC News on Sunday, Zelensky had called on Vladimir Putin to agree to a full ceasefire for 60 days so that Ukraine could hold a presidential election.

Russia has long called for elections in Ukraine and has claimed that the failure to hold them calls Zelensky’s legitimacy into question. Under Ukrainian law, elections are prohibited during martial law.