President Zelenskyy has dismissed Vladimir Putin’s latest ceasefire offer as “nothing new” and likened it to Hitler’s promises before the Second World War.

The Russian leader set out preconditions on Friday for ending attacks on Ukraine and starting peace talks.

He said he would be ready for negotiations “tomorrow” if Ukraine withdrew from the Zaporizhzhia, Kherson, Donetsk and Luhansk regions.

President Putin said Russian would “immediately, literally the same minute” stop fighting and start negotiating if Ukraine withdrew its forces and ended its NATO bid.

“We will do it immediately. Obviously, we will guarantee the uninterrupted and safe withdrawal of Ukrainian forces,” he said.

Shades of Hitler

The president made the comments in a meeting with Russian foreign ministry officials, with Ukraine’s leader quick to say the offer could not be trusted as he warned of “Russian Nazism”.

“There is nothing new about this, this is Putin,” he told Sky Italia.

Ukrainian forces strike military airfield in Russia amid ‘sustained campaign’ on Putin’s RAF

Putin knew Ukraine would reject his ceasefire offer – where will the escalation end?

US reporter Evan Gershkovich detained in Russia to stand trial on espionage charges

“Putin keeps saying when he will get some of our territories – some that they have already occupied and some others that are not occupied yet, in some of our regions – he says after that he will stop and there will be no ‘frozen war’.”

Please use Chrome browser for a more accessible video player

President Zelenskyy said it was “exactly the kind of things that Hitler would say”.

“He would say ‘give me a part of the Czech Republic and the war will end’, but he was just lying because after that came Poland; ‘give me a part of Poland’, and then came the occupation of the whole Europe…”

“This is what Nazism is about and we can’t trust Putin because he’s on the very same path,” added the Ukrainian president.

He told Sky Italia people should remember Russia only claimed Crimea and Donbas regions before the war, but has now expanded its attempted land grab.

Putin ‘peace’ offer

Mr Zelenskyy said as President Putin made his ‘peace’ offer, his country had been hit by around 31 drone and ballistic missile attacks.

The war began when Russia invaded Ukraine in February 2022.

The Kremlin’s hopes of a swift victory proved ill-founded, but it now controls large swathes of the country’s east and southeast.

Keep up with all the latest news from the UK and around the world by following Sky News

Read more:
Putin knew Ukraine would reject offer – where will escalation end?

Ukraine has also been suffering badly with a lack of arms and ammunition. However, it is hoped a $61bn US arms package, agreed in April, will have a meaningful impact.

Mr Zelenskyy was speaking from the G7 meeting in southern Italy, which began on Thursday with a renewed show of support for Ukraine.

👉 Click here to follow the Sky News Daily wherever you get your podcasts👈

President Biden also used the event to sign a 10-year security deal between America and Ukraine.

‘Point of no return’

A peace summit involving more countries takes place this weekend in Switzerland, based on a plan put forward by President Zelenskyy in late 2022.

Be the first to get Breaking News

Install the Sky News app for free

President Putin’s ceasefire ultimatum came as he also warned the West was “close to the point of no return”, citing the US withdrawal from a nuclear treaty with Russia in 2019.

“Washington has unilaterally withdrawn from various arms-control treaties,” he said.

“The selfishness and arrogance of Western states has led to the current extremely dangerous state of affairs. We have come unacceptably close to the point of no return.”

Related posts:

Star actors join calls for government to resolve post-Brexit visa issue India ‘will face trouble’ if action not taken to stem latest coronavirus wave, PM Modi warns Britons scramble to leave Portugal as UK flights doubled on last day before new quarantine rules come into force UN ‘saddened and disturbed’ by death of 84-year-old Indian activist in custody Drought in East Africa puts millions at risk of severe hunger Meet the people doing anything and everything they can for Ukraine’s victims Pregnant woman pictured being evacuated from bombed Mariupol hospital dies with baby Europe recognises scale of illegal migration problem – but there is little sign of a big step forward ‘It’s not for us to decide:’ US official refuses to be drawn on Biden’s plea to Putin on Ukraine pullout Russian aircraft intercepted by RAF and German air force in first of its kind NATO mission Shock as ‘world class’ rally driver, 33, killed in crash ‘Dozens’ of migrants killed in shipwreck off Italian coast