Putin must meet a deadline for peace in Ukraine... or meet the consequences: NATO leaders warning as they reveal Russias staggering death toll in war
NATO leaders have warned Vladimir Putin that he must meet a deadline for a ceasefire in Ukraine or face the consequences - as they reveal Russias staggering death toll in the war.
NATO leaders have warned Vladimir Putin that he must meet a deadline for a ceasefire in Ukraine or face the consequences - as they reveal Russias staggering death toll in the war.
Canadian foreign minister Melanie Joly said there had to be consequences if Russia does not agree to a ceasefire proposal as she arrived in Brussels on Friday to meet with her NATO counterparts.
There must be red lines in terms of a timetable when it comes to a Ukraine ceasefire, Estonian foreign minister Margus Tsahkna echoed.
(Russian president Vladimir Putin) is asking more and he is not asking only more about Ukraine. Hes just putting new conditions on the table (...) there must be some kind of red lines on the timetable, he said as he arrived in Brussels.
Britain said it was time to step up pressure on Russia to try to force it to negotiate in good faith, while France accused Putin of dragging his feet on the ceasefire deal.
We continue to bear down the sanctions on Russia, so that they are willing to come to this negotiation actually serious about making the peace that we want to see, British foreign minister David Lammy said at a NATO meeting.
This comes as a senior NATO official revealed that Russia has seen about 900,000 casualties since the war started in February 2022, the German press agency DPA reports.
The British Ministry of Defence said in its latest intelligence update that up to 250,000 Russian soldiers have been killed since Putin began his brutal invasion of Ukraine.
NATO leaders have warned Vladimir Putin (pictured) that he must meet a deadline for a ceasefire in Ukraine or face the consequences - as they reveal Russias staggering death toll in the war
A resident runs away from a fire following Russias drone attack in Kharkiv, Ukraine, late Thursday, April 3, 2025
Britain said it was time to step up pressure on Russia to try to force it to negotiate in good faith, while France accused Putin of dragging his feet on the ceasefire deal. British foreign minister David Lammy and French foreign minister Jean-Noel Barrot are pictured above
Lammy and and his French counterpart on Friday said Russia was still striking Ukraines energy infrastructure and accused him of delaying the peace deal.
At the same time, Paris said that the military chiefs from the two countries were visiting Kyiv to discuss a possible deployment of troops to secure any ceasefire.
Over the past three weeks, Russia has been flip flopping, continuing its strikes on energy infrastructure, continuing its war crimes, French foreign minister Jean-Noel Barrot said at a NATO meeting alongside Lammy.
There will at some point be a need for military capacity or reassurance, whenever peace is reached - and this is the reason why our army chiefs will be in Kyiv today in order to advance this work, Barrot said.
Kyiv and Moscow have accused each other of breaking a supposed US-backed deal to stop firing on energy sites, though a formal agreement has not been put in place and what commitments each side has undertaken remain unclear.
Our judgment is that Putin continues to obfuscate, continues to drag his feet. He could accept a cease fire now, but he continues to bombard Ukraine, its civilian population, its energy supplies, Lammy said.
We see, Vladimir Putin. We know what youre doing.
Both the French and British foreign ministers insisted that now was the time to bolster support for Ukraine, with Lammy saying: We are pledged to continue to put Ukraine in the strongest possible position, militarily, economically.
A Ukrainian serviceman fires a field artillery gun towards Russian troops at a frontline position in Zaporizhzhia region, Ukraine, on March 31, 2025
Canadian foreign minister Melanie Joly (centre, in a red coat) said a deadline for Russia should be set as she arrived in Brussels on Friday to meet with her NATO counterparts. There must be red lines in terms of a timetable when it comes to a Ukraine ceasefire, Estonian foreign minister Margus Tsahkna (last row, centre) echoed
A still image taken from a video released on 31 March 2025 shows Russian soldiers operating a 152 mm self-propelled gun 2S5 Giatsint-S before firing toward Ukrainian positions at an undisclosed location in Ukraine
This comes as Russia saw 35,140 casualties this February alone, according to the NATO official who spoke to DPA.
The British Ministry of Defence said despite suffering the largest troop losses since World War Two with 900,000 casualties since invading Ukraine, Putin and the Russian military leadership [is] highly likely to prioritise their military objectives over the lives of Russian soldiers.
The ministry added: They are almost certainly prepared to tolerate continuously high casualty rates so long as this does not negatively affect public or elite support for the war, and those losses can be replaced.
The MoD also accused the Kremlin of selectively recruiting soldiers from poorer regions of the country.
Putin and the Russian leadership highly likely place significantly less value on the lives of ethnic minority Russian citizens from impoverished regions, with Russian recruitment efforts consequently focused disproportionately on these areas.
Slavic Russians from urban centres such as Moscow and St. Petersburg have contributed disproportionately fewer service personnel than their poorer, ethnic minority compatriots.