Zelensky: 30-day ceasefire will not be enough for the full restoration of Russian forces

A possible 30-day ceasefire will not allow Russia to fully restore its forces, President Volodymyr Zelenskyy believes. Such a ceasefire is insufficient for both sides of the war, the head of state said during a press conference.

The journalist asked whether the 30-day truce would be "another gift" to Russian dictator Vladimir Putin, allowing Moscow to regroup and prepare for a summer offensive campaign.

"No one knows in advance what will happen, what will happen. I believe that this period will not be enough for anyone to fully restore their strength," the head of state said.

According to him, the 30-day ceasefire is more about de-escalation and the opportunity to open a dialogue.

"This is exactly what it's about. That's why both the United States and Europe react this way when Russia, for example, says: 'We want there to be no deliveries [of weapons to Ukraine] at this moment, etc.' Deliveries don't happen like that," the president explained.

He noted that stopping the supply of Western weapons to Ukraine, which the Kremlin demands during the ceasefire, would not help the occupiers.

"What supplies will stop? They have been in Europe for months: this or that equipment, this or that weapon. This is not a secret even for the Russians, they understand it," Zelenskyy added.

According to him, the aid that was sent from the US six months ago "will arrive later in one format or another."

In general, Moscow's demand to stop military aid for the duration of the ceasefire is "not alive, not structural, not about anything," the head of state emphasized.

"Only people who don't understand the format of weapons supplies can talk about this. And that's it. And the fact that there will be no crossing, for example, of our border of one or another weapon – that also won't work. Because what we need, we already have in our warehouses," the president concluded.

Zelenskyy also added that he had not discussed with his American counterpart Donald Trump the issue of suspending aid during the ceasefire, and noted that aid has continued to arrive since March 11 after being unfrozen by the United States.

• At the same conference, Zelenskyy said that he did not know whether his American counterpart Trump would fly to Turkey for talks.

• The president said that Ukraine's partners should impose new sanctions against Russia if Russian dictator Putin does not come to the negotiations on May 15.