Kremlin says Macron, Merz and Starmer talk of peace, but help Kyiv with new weapons to continue the war

The ​Kremlin said ‌on Monday (June 8, 2026) that the ​leaders ⁠of Germany, France, and Britain spoke ‌of peace in Ukraine, ‌but were ‌helping ⁠Kyiv ⁠with new weapons to continue the war, ​a ‌position it said was inconsistent.

The leaders of ‌Britain, Germany ​, and France said on ⁠Sunday (June 7) they supported a proposal ‌for talks between Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy and Russian President ‌Vladimir Putin to ​try to secure a ceasefire, ⁠and that ⁠Europe would play a ‌role.

Earlier, Ukraine’s Volodymyr Zelenskyy proposed a face-to-face meeting with Vladimir Putin in a rare open letter to the Russian leader Thursday (June 4, 2026), shortly after the Kremlin chief had conceded Moscow needed to strengthen its air defences following a spate of Ukrainian attacks.

U.S. President Donald Trump, who has pushed both sides to end the conflict and boasted he could end the war within a day of taking office, said a face-to-face Putin-Zelenskyy meeting would be “great” — but pushed both sides to compromise.

The Kremlin said Mr. Putin had not yet been shown the letter, but that Mr. Zelenskyy could meet Mr. Putin in Moscow “any time” — a proposal that the Ukrainian leader preemptively ruled out in his letter.