Kremlin: Ukraine "doesn't deserve to breathe," offers one-day truce for elections

The Kremlin pushed back against proposals for a multiweek ceasefire in Ukraine, saying the country "doesn't deserve to breathe" and offering instead a single day without attacks so elections could be held.

Russian response

Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov dismissed the idea of a long truce, warning that any pause would let Western states rearm Kyiv. "During any ceasefire, Europe could supply Ukraine with new weapons so that it can continue the war. Zelensky will use any words, any initiatives, to get a break. I do not think he deserves that. We will not fall for those reassurances and promises again," Lavrov said.

Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov offered a narrower concession, saying Moscow might refrain from attacks for a single day if Ukraine were to hold presidential voting. "If they really want to hold elections, Vladimir Putin will be prepared to issue an order to refrain from carrying out attacks on Ukraine on election day. This is a very important clarification. A sixty-day ceasefire proposed by Volodymyr Zelensky would allow Ukraine to heal its wounds and continue the war," Peskov said.

President Volodymyr Zelensky had argued that a 60-day ceasefire would permit Ukraine to stage presidential elections. "From a security perspective, holding elections is completely impossible, because attacks happen day and night," Zelensky said, responding to comments by Donald Trump that it was time for Ukraine to get a new president.

Under the constitution, elections in Ukraine are not possible while the country is under martial law. The Kremlin's remarks came as Donald Trump said yesterday that Russia and Ukraine had agreed an "energy truce," a claim Moscow had not publicly confirmed.

Instead of confirming a broader pause, Kyiv reported that Russia attacked six energy facilities across Ukraine today, undercutting proposals for a sustained cessation of hostilities.

Photo: AP)