Europe Dismisses Putin’s Choice of Mediator as War Grinds On
European leaders on Monday rejected Vladimir Putin’s proposal to use former German chancellor Gerhard Schröder as a mediator in peace negotiations, as a fragile US-brokered ceasefire between Russia and Ukraine effectively collapsed amid mutual accusations of violations and continued frontline fighting.
Kallas Rejects Schröder as Europe’s Negotiator
EU foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas was blunt in her dismissal of the proposal, made by Putin to reporters on Saturday. “If we give the right to Russia to appoint a negotiator on our behalf, you know, that would not be very wise,” she said, arriving for a meeting of EU foreign ministers in Brussels.
Kallas noted that Schröder’s record of lobbying for Russian state energy companies meant “he would be sitting on both sides of the table.” Germany’s Minister of State for Europe, Gunther Krichbaum, was equally direct, saying Schröder had “not exactly done everything in the past to be able to act as a neutral mediator.”
After leaving the chancellorship in 2005, Schröder took up a chairmanship at a German-Russian gas pipeline consortium, cementing ties to Moscow that have drawn sustained criticism in Germany and across the EU. Krichbaum acknowledged that “close friendships may be legitimate anywhere in the world, but they do not help one to be perceived as an impartial mediator.”
Putin Claims War Is “Coming to an End”
Putin told reporters on Saturday that he believed the conflict was “coming to an end,” a claim that sits uneasily with battlefield realities. He also expressed willingness to negotiate new European security arrangements, with Schröder as his preferred interlocutor.
European Council President António Costa said last week there was “potential” for the EU to engage Russia on the future security architecture of Europe, though the bloc has shown no appetite for terms dictated by Moscow.
Ceasefire Frays as Frontline Clashes Mount
A 72-hour US-brokered ceasefire was due to expire on Monday with both sides trading accusations of violations. Ukraine’s General Staff recorded 180 battlefield clashes along the front line in the preceding 24 hours alone.
Russian forces deployed kamikaze drones and artillery against settlements and military positions on Sunday, according to Kyiv’s Monday morning update. By the afternoon, a further 38 new assaults on Ukrainian positions had been recorded, with artillery shelling of border areas continuing.
Ukrainian authorities reported that Russian drones, bombs and artillery struck civilian areas in the Kharkiv and Kherson regions, killing at least two people and wounding seven. Russia’s Defence Ministry, meanwhile, accused Kyiv of committing more than 1,000 ceasefire violations.
UK and EU Sanction Russian Officials Over Deported Ukrainian Children
The United Kingdom announced sanctions against 29 individuals linked to the forced deportation and militarisation of Ukrainian children, alongside a further 56 connected to Russian information warfare operations.
More than 20,000 Ukrainian children are estimated to have been forcibly transferred or deported to Russia and occupied territories since the war began. An estimated 6,000 of those children have reportedly been placed in re-education camps subjected to propaganda designed to erase Ukrainian identity.
The UK also announced an additional £1.2 million in funding to help identify and return affected children to their families and communities.
The European Union acted in parallel, imposing sanctions on 16 individuals and seven entities in Russia for their role in the deportations. Those listed include federal institutions linked to Russia’s Ministry of Education, officials from Russian-occupied territories, and leaders of youth camps and military-patriotic organisations. The listings carry asset freezes, funding prohibitions and EU travel bans.
Key Developments at a Glance
UK Consumer Confidence Falls Sharply
Separately, a PwC survey of more than 2,000 British consumers conducted after Easter found that consumer confidence had recorded its sharpest quarterly decline since June 2022, when the Ukraine war first triggered an energy price shock. The optimism index fell from -1 to -13.
Analysts attributed the drop to uncertainty over the economic impact of the conflict in Iran on food and energy costs, raising concerns about a renewed cost-of-living squeeze for British households.