"We agreed that a full and unconditional ceasefire must begin on Monday, May 12, for at least 30 days. We jointly demand this from Russia, and we know we are supported in this by the United States," Zelensky said.
The announcement follows mounting fears that the two nuclear-armed countries were on the brink of engaging in another full-scale war.
Ukrainian media outlet ZN.UA reported on May 10 that their law enforcement sources confirmed an ongoing probe by the National Anti-Corruption Bureau into suspected embezzlement, money laundering and bribery.
Iran is preparing to send Russia Fath-360 short-range ballistic missile launchers, Reuters reported on May 9, citing Western security and regional officials familiar with the matter.
"Ukraine and all allies are ready for a complete unconditional ceasefire on land, in the air, and at sea for at least 30 days, starting as early as Monday," Ukraine's Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha wrote.
U.S. President Donald Trump has acknowledged in private that Russia is difficult to negotiate with because they "want the whole thing," referring to Ukraine, the WSJ reported, citing sources familiar with the comments.
The visit marks Merz’s first trip to Ukraine, and the first time all four leaders have travelled there together.
A notice about the airspace closure was published on the U.S. Defense Department's NOTAM (Notice to Airmen) website on May 10, as cited by Ukrainian defense news outlet Militarnyi.
"As in the past, it is now for Russia to show its willingness to achieve peace," the EU's statement reads.
Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov rejected the idea of a 30-day ceasefire between Russia and Ukraine, claiming in an interview with ABC News on May 10 that it would be "an advantage" for Ukraine.
"Our involvement in the war was justifiable, and this belongs to our sovereign rights," North Korean dictator Kim Jong Un said. "I regard this as part of the sacred mission we must execute for our brothers and comrades-in-arms."
The number includes 1,310 casualties that Russian forces suffered over the past day.
Ukrainian survivor of Russian torture files legal complaint in Argentina
A Ukrainian man has filed a criminal complaint to Argentina's Federal Judiciary against the Russian occupying forces who tortured him, The Reckoning Project (TRP), an international NGO that works to bring war crime cases to court, announced on April 16.
Argentina's constitution allows for trials on "international crimes, including crimes against humanity and war crimes, irrespective of where they took place," on the basis of universal jurisdiction, TRP said in a press release.
The man, who is identified as Mr M for security reasons, filed the torture complaint on April 15 in Buenos Aires.
Though this case is the first time a Ukrainian torture complaint has been filed in Argentina, Mr M said that he is "one of so many cases."
As of March 2024, Ukraine's Prosecutor General's Office collected pretrial information on over 128,000 victims of war crimes.
Mr M noted that he has brought Ukraine's "pain and suffering to the international scene, to a country that is not unfamiliar with that type of pain and suffering."
Argentina was ruled by a military junta that led a campaign of terror against left-wing opponents and suspected dissidents between 1976 and 1983, known as the "Dirty War."
As many as 30,000 people were killed by the authorities in this period, thousands of whom went missing after being detained.
TRP noted that in recent years, "Argentina has taken a leading role in the fight against impunity both domestically and internationally, including by opening investigations under the principle of universal jurisdiction arising from different country contexts."
Nataliya Gumenyuk, a Ukrainian journalist and CEO of the Public Interest Journalism Lab, accompanied the surivor to Argentina for the filing of the complaint.
"For us Ukrainians, the Argentinian experience of trials is both a call for international support in upholding the rule of law and a hope that justice is possible," Gumenyuk said.
According to Reuters, which has seen the complaint, Russian forces held Mr M in a detention center in Ukraine's occupied south.
"The man accuses one named person, two identified by their call signs or military insignia, and others who are unnamed of using electrocution and unlawful imprisonment as forms of torture in mid to late 2022," Reuters said.
The court in Argentina will now decide if it will accept the complaint, a process that could take months, Reuters said.
Yevheniia Motorevska
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