Published: 12:04 AM, 13 October 2026
Kremlin rejects 60-day truce offer
The Russian flag flies on the dome of the Kremlin Senate building behind Spasskaya Tower in Moscow, Russia. -Reuters
The Kremlin on Monday rejected a 60-day ceasefire idea proposed by Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy to allow his country to hold presidential elections, saying it wanted an overall peace deal instead.
"Please tell Putin, give us two months, 60 days of total ceasefire, 60 days, and we will organise elections," Zelenskiy told ABC's "This Week" on Sunday.
Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters on Monday that Russia wanted a long-term peace deal rather than a temporary ceasefire.
"In the Kremlin, both President Putin and officials at other levels have repeatedly stated that we do not want a ceasefire," said Peskov. "We want long-term peace andare prepared to do everything possible to achieve it."
Russia has long pressed Ukraine to hold elections and says that its failure to do so makes Zelenskiy an illegitimate leader. Elections in wartime are prohibited by Ukrainian law.
Russian strikes hit multiple Ukrainian power plants after Donald Trump claimed both sides had agreed to stop hitting each other's energy infrastructure, Volodymyr Zelenskyy said. The Ukrainian president said on social media a drone had hit a power plant in Kyiv on Sunday, leading to power outages in the capital. Shortly after, he said there had been a strike on the CHP-5 power plant in the eastern city of Kharkiv, adding:"Ukrainian skies have been infested with Russian 'shaheds' [drones] all day."
