Published by Global Banking & Finance Review®
Posted on May 21, 2025
2 min readLast updated: January 23, 2026
Add as preferred source on GoogleUkraine's Zelenskiy calls NATO's Rutte to discuss coordinated pressure on Russia for peace, following a Trump-Putin call.
KYIV (Reuters) -Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy said on Wednesday he had spoken by telephone to NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte, and that they had discussed joint steps and the need to put pressure on Russia to secure "a just peace".
"It is important that all decisions are coordinated. Then the sanctions will work. Without pressure on Moscow, a just peace cannot be achieved. Everyone understands this," Zelenskiy said on the Telegram messaging app.
The Ukrainian leader has been calling European allies in the last two days to seek more pressure on Russia after U.S. President Donald Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin spoke by phone on Monday.
For Ukraine and its allies, who spent months trying to win the Trump administration over to their cause in the war started by Russia, the U.S. leader's call with Putin put them back at square one.
The U.S. president dropped his earlier insistence on an unconditional 30-day ceasefire that he hoped would kickstart what promise to be long and tortuous peace talks.
Trump also signalled that the war he once promised to end in 24 hours was no longer his to fix - a message that leaves Ukraine vulnerable and its allies worried.
(Reporting by Olena Harmash and Tom Balmforth, Editing by Timothy Heritage)
Zelenskiy spoke about the need for coordinated decisions and increased pressure on Russia to ensure that sanctions are effective.
Zelenskiy believes that without pressure on Moscow, a just peace cannot be achieved, emphasizing the importance of coordinated actions.
The call between Trump and Putin has left Ukraine and its allies feeling vulnerable, as it undermines their efforts to gain U.S. support in the conflict.
Trump dropped his earlier insistence on an unconditional 30-day ceasefire, which he had hoped would initiate peace talks.
Trump's message indicates that the war is no longer his responsibility to resolve, which raises concerns for Ukraine and its allies about their security.
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