KYIV: The Kremlin said Monday it would not accept "ultimatums" set by European leaders to enter a ceasefire with Ukraine, without responding to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky's call for a personal meeting with Vladimir Putin. Kyiv and its allies urged Moscow to agree to a full and unconditional 30-day ceasefire starting Monday but Putin instead proposed direct Russia-Ukraine talks in Istanbul on Thursday.

European countries including France and Germany have warned a ceasefire needs to be in place for talks to happen but Moscow has effectively ignored this call, launching attacks across the front line, according to Kyiv. "The language of ultimatums is unacceptable to Russia, it is not appropriate. You cannot talk to Russia in such a language," Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told journalists during a briefing call. "We are focused on a serious search for ways to achieve a long-term peaceful settlement," Peskov said, while declining to comment on who Russia would send to Istanbul.

Russia fired more than 100 drones at eastern Ukraine overnight, killing one person and wounding six, as well as damaging railway infrastructure and residential buildings, local officials said. "Russians are completely ignoring the offer of a full and durable ceasefire starting on May 12," Ukrainian Foreign Minister Andriy Sybiga wrote on X after meeting Kyiv's Western allies online. "They continue to attack Ukrainian positions all along the frontline."

'How long can it last?'

Raising the stakes after a weekend of intense diplomacy, Zelensky said Sunday he would be willing to meet Putin in Turkey "personally". The prospect of direct Russia-Ukraine talks on ending the war — the first since the early months of Russia's 2022 invasion — has been welcomed by Washington and across Europe. Tens of thousands have been killed and millions forced to flee their homes since Russia invaded in February 2022, while its army now controls around one-fifth of the country — including the Crimean peninsula, annexed in 2014.

US President Donald Trump, who has threatened to stop trying to mediate a peace deal if he does not see compromises from both sides, has called for them to sit down immediately. Speaking to journalists before departing on his trip to the Middle East, Trump said he is "thinking" of flying to Turkey Thursday for the talks.

Putin has said any direct talks with Ukraine should focus on the "root causes" of the conflict, and did not "exclude" a possible ceasefire coming out of any talks in Istanbul. Russia's references to the "root causes" of the conflict typically refer to alleged grievances with Kyiv and the West that Moscow has put forward as justification for its invasion. They include pledges to "de-Nazify" and de-militarize Ukraine, protect Russian speakers in the country's east and push back against NATO expansion. Kyiv and the West have rejected all of them, saying Russia's invasion is nothing more than an imperial-style land grab.

Europe tensions high

European foreign ministers threatened to step up sanctions on Russia on Monday. In a joint statement after their meeting in the British capital, the foreign ministers said they were concerned that Russia "had not shown any serious intent to make progress." "It must do so without delay," the ministers from Britain, France, Germany, Italy, Poland, Spain and the EU said. They said they had agreed "to pursue ambitious measures to reduce Russia's ability to wage war by limiting Kremlin revenues, disrupting the shadow fleet, tightening the Oil Price Cap, and reducing our remaining imports of Russian energy." But host David Lammy, the UK's foreign minister, stopped short of announcing fresh sanctions as had been planned, and several of the measures in the statement have already been unveiled.

Already tense relations between Warsaw and Moscow have hit new lows on Monday. Poland summoned the Russian ambassador and said it would close the Russian consulate in Krakow after evidence showed Moscow was responsible for a huge fire that almost completely destroyed a Warsaw shopping center in 2024. Russia denied any involvement in the arson attack and accused Poland of Russophobia.

NATO member Poland says its own role as a hub for aid for Kyiv has made it a target of Russian sabotage, cyberattacks and disinformation. On Sunday, Prime Minister Donald Tusk said Poland knew "for sure" that Russian secret services were behind last year's fire. "Due to evidence that the Russian special services committed a reprehensible act of sabotage against the shopping center on Marywilska Street, I have decided to withdraw my consent to the operation of the Consulate of the Russian Federation in Krakow," Polish Foreign Minister Radoslaw Sikorski wrote on X. Sikorski told reporters at a meeting of foreign ministers in London that Poland would take further action if attacks such as the one on the shopping center continued. — Agencies