Russia dashes hopes of Ukraine ceasefire as Kremlin tells Trump war is 'too complicated' to end quickly

Speaking on Wednesday, Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov said a ceasefire in Ukraine will not be agreed soon, despite Russia being “open to peace.”

It comes as the White House continues to seek a deal between Russia and Ukraine after Donald Trump promised to end the war in “one day.”

"We understand that Washington is willing to achieve a quick success in this process, but at the same time we hope for understanding that the settlement of the Ukrainian crisis is too complicated [a process] to be done overnight, there are lots of details and lots of small things that need to be tackled before the settlement," Peskov said.

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He added that the Kremlin is willing to speak directly with Ukraine, despite being “grateful” to the United States for trying to mediate the deal.

"A peace deal should be done with Ukraine and not with America,” he said.

“America is trying to mediate and we are grateful... a couple of days ago President Putin renewed his readiness for direct negotiations with the Ukrainians without any initial conditions. This readiness is still active," he added.

It comes after Russia announced a planned three-day ceasefire in Ukraine to mark the 80th anniversary of the end of World War Two.

The ceasefire, which follows a failed Easter pause to the fighting, will begin on May 7 and end on May 11.

Posting on Telegram, the Kremlin said that while Ukraine has not responded to the plans, it believes “the Ukrainian side should follow this example."

Moscow added: "In case of violation of the ceasefire by the Ukrainian side, the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation will provide an adequate and effective response."

"The Russian side once again declares its readiness for peace negotiations without preconditions, aimed at eliminating the root causes of the Ukrainian crisis, and constructive interaction with international partners," Putin continued of the proposed ceasefire.

It comes as Donald Trump suggested over the weekend that Ukraine would be willing to give up Crimea in a bid to secure peace.

Speaking on Saturday following his meeting with Zelenskyy at the Vatican, Trump said “Oh, I think so,” when asked whether he thought Zelenskyy was ready to “give up” territory.

However, Trump's comments appear to contrast Zelenskyy's take on the situation, with the leader insisting Ukraine would never accept US recognition of Russia’s annexation of Crimea during a press conference last week.

Only last week, Putin announced a 30-hour ceasefire to mark Easter, which ended in Russia launching around 3,000 attacks on Ukraine, according to Volodymyr Zelenskyy.