Ukraine asks Europe to mediate "airport ceasefire" with Russia

Ukrainian Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha has said that Kyiv is asking European countries to help broker an agreement with Russia on a mutual halt to strikes on airports.

Source: Sybiha in a comment to Politico, Brussels-based politics and policy news organisation, on the sidelines of a meeting of EU foreign ministers in Brussels

Details: The Ukrainian side hopes that such a step would give European leaders a more concrete role in the diplomatic process amid slowing US-led talks.

Sybiha believes Russian leader Vladimir Putin may have an incentive to join such an agreement because major Russian aviation hubs, including Sheremetyevo International Airport in Moscow and Pulkovo airport in St Petersburg, are becoming increasingly vulnerable to strikes by Ukrainian long-range weapons.

Quote from Sybiha: "We probably need a new role of Europe in our peace efforts. Maybe we would try to resolve or to achieve a so-called airport ceasefire. Maybe our European allies, by establishing a platform, or maybe an ad hoc group, we could discuss [the airport ceasefire]."

Details: However, Kyiv is not asking Europe to replace Washington. On the contrary, Sybiha mentioned that any European efforts should reinforce the US-led diplomatic process and avoid creating competing paths.

"It should be [a] complementary track – not instead, not alternative," he stressed, adding that Europe should speak with "one voice".

Politico noted that the Ukrainian minister had presented this proposal to European counterparts behind closed doors. According to an anonymous European official, the EU reacted cautiously because expectations regarding direct contacts with Moscow first need to be determined in order to avoid acting blindly. Senior EU officials argue that Putin has shown no serious intention of winding down the war.

Meanwhile, Kaja Kallas, EU High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy, said the EU could discuss Europe's role during future meetings of foreign ministers. She also rejected Putin's proposal to involve former German chancellor Gerhard Schröder as an EU mediator.

Commenting on the idea, Sybiha joked that the Russian leader might just as well have suggested actors Steven Seagal or Gérard Depardieu – both known for their sympathy towards Putin's Russia – for the role.

Background:

• The German government also rejected Putin's proposal that Schröder should act as an EU negotiator with Russia, viewing it as an attempt to sow division within Europe and among German politicians.
• Schröder, 82, served as chancellor of Germany from 1998 to 2005 and led the SPD from 1999 to 2004. After leaving office, he has worked for years in Russian energy companies for which he has long faced criticism, and is still regarded as a close associate of Putin.
• Following the start of the full-scale war, he has failed to distance himself from the Kremlin. Most recently, in January 2026, he called for the resumption of energy cooperation with Russia and urged politicians not to "demonise" Russia despite its aggression against Ukraine.

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