European countries will start preparing new sanctions onRussiaunless the Kremlin starts abiding by a 30-day ceasefire by the end of Monday, Germany's government said.Ukraine's military saidRussiahad conducted dozens of attacks along the front in eastern Ukraine on Monday, as well as anovernight assaultusing more than 100 drones, despitethe ceasefireproposal byEurope and Kyiv."The clock is ticking," a German government spokesperson said at a news conference in Berlin."We still have 12 hours until the end of the day, and if the ceasefire is not in place by then, the European side will [set in motion] preparations for sanctions," the spokesperson said.The leaders of four major European powers travelled to Kyiv on Saturday and demanded anunconditional 30-day ceasefirefrom Monday.Russian President Vladimir Putin, implicitly rejecting the offer, instead proposeddirectRussia-Ukraine talksin Istanbul that he said could potentially lead to a ceasefire.In a fresh twist in the stop-start peace talks process, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy said he would travel in person to Istanbul, where he said he would be waiting to meet Putin.The Kremlin has not responded to that latest proposal.
Putin and Zelenskiy have not met since December 2019, over two years beforeRussialaunched its full-scale invasion of Ukraine.Russiaand Ukraine are both trying to show U.S.President Donald Trumpthat they are working toward his objective of reaching a quick peace in Ukraine, while trying to make the other look like the spoiler to his efforts.Kyiv is desperate to unlock more of the U.S.
military backing it received from Trump's predecessor, Joe Biden.
Moscow senses an opportunity to get relief from a barrage of economic sanctions and engage with the world's biggest economy.Europe, meanwhile, is doing its best to preserve good relations with Trump despite hisimposition of tariffs, hoping it can persuade him to swing more forcefully behind Ukraine's cause, which they see as central to the continent's security.A group of EuropeanUnion foreignministers and EU foreign policy chief Kaja Kallaswereset to hold talks in London on Monday.