Ukraine’s Zelenskiy, in Prague, says ceasefire could be put in place at any moment

May 5, 2025 , 08:36 AM

Zelenskiy seeks greater pressure on Moscow
Says ceasefire with Russia could be put in place at any time
Czech president says Moscow has all the cards to end the war

(May 4, 2025, REUTERS) – Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy said on Sunday that a ceasefire with Russia in its more than three-year-old war was possible at any moment and called on Kyiv’s allies to apply greater pressure on Moscow to put the measure in place.

Zelenskiy, speaking at a joint news conference in Prague alongside Czech President Petr Pavel, said that unless increased pressure were applied, Kremlin leader Vladimir Putin would take no real steps to end the conflict.

“We believe that without increased pressure, Russia will not take real practical steps to end the war. Today marks the 54th day that Russia has ignored even the American proposal to completely cease fire,” Zelenskiy told reporters.

“We believe that a ceasefire is possible at any moment, even starting today, and should last at least 30 days to give diplomacy a real chance.”

Putin last week declared a three-day ceasefire over May 8-10 to mark the 80th anniversary of the victory of the Soviet Union and its allies over Nazi Germany in World War Two.

Zelenskiy said such a measure is pointless and has called instead for an unconditional ceasefire over at least 30 days in line with a U.S. proposal launched in March.

The Czech government has been a strong backer of Kyiv since Russia invaded Ukraine in 2022, and has led an initiative to supply Ukraine with large-calibre ammunition.

ZELENSKIY WANTS MORE SANCTIONS, PRESSURE ON MOSCOW

The Ukrainian president said that rather than putting tanks on display at a May 9 victory parade, Putin should be thinking “about how to actually end his war”.

“Three things are needed. More sanctions against Russia, continued support for Ukraine, and a significant increase in defence cooperation across Europe,” he said. “Russia must know that Europeans will defend themselves.”

Moscow has said it wants an unambiguous reply from Zelenskiy to its three-day offer.

Pavel said Russia had yet to show any indication it wanted to proceed with measures to end the war.

“If someone has all the cards in their hand to end the war then it is President Putin, who can do it with a single decision,” he told reporters. “But so far the will has not appeared.”

Under the military initiative, the Czechs have used their diplomatic, business and industrial expertise to find large-calibre ammunition around the world and ship it to Ukraine with funding from NATO allies.

Pavel said in February that Ukraine had received 1.6 million rounds of large-calibre ammunition in the past year.

Zelenskiy said Ukraine hoped to receive 1.8 million shells under the programme initiative in 2025

In an earlier social media post, Zelenskiy praised the initiative as “effective” and said cooperation would also be pursued in military aviation, expanding pilot training programmes, and supporting Ukraine’s fleet of F-16 aircraft.

Zelenskiy, who is accompanied on the trip by first lady Olena Zelenska, meets Czech Prime Minister Petr Fiala on Monday, with the Czech ammunition drive among the topics on the agenda.

The Ukrainian leader said on X social media site on Saturday he was preparing for upcoming foreign policy meetings focusing on helping push Russia into a ceasefire.

He also said he discussed air defence systems and sanctions on Russia with U.S. President Donald Trump on the sidelines of Pope Francis’ funeral at the Vatican on April 26. The two agreed a 30-day ceasefire was the correct first step towards ending the war.

(Reporting by Jason Hovet in Prague, Pavel Polityuk in Kyiv, additional reporting by Alan Charlish; Editing by Toby Chopra, Ron Popeski and Marguerita Choy)

Privacy Statement

Our Privacy Commitment

TV5 Network Inc. values and respects your privacy. We are committed to safeguarding your personal data in compliance with Republic Act No. 10173 or the Data Privacy Act of 2012 and its implementing rules and regulations.

We have developed a Privacy Policy that adopts and observes appropriate standards for personal data protection. While our Privacy Policy sets out the general principles governing the collection, use, and disclosure of our users’ personal information, our Privacy Commitment seeks to inform you more about TV5’s privacy practices.

Why do we collect your personal information (as applicable)?

We may collect and maintain basic information about you as site user of TV5 sites for the following purposes:

To deliver news and updates on current events, sports, esports and entertainment;
To share livestreams of news and sports events;
To understand our viewers’ needs and preferences;
To meet legal and regulatory requirements; and
To perform other processes or disclosures that are required to comply with pertinent laws, rules, or regulations.

Where do we get your personal information?

There are several ways we collect your personal information.

Information that you personally provided.

Most of the personal information we have are those that you have provided us when you:
- Register to our programs or services;
- Inquired, filed a complaint or requested for our services;
- Took part in our research and surveys; and/or
- Became our Partner, Vendor, Contractor or Supplier.

Information we collect during your engagement with us

We also collect information as you use our products and services, like:
- Viewing our websites;
- Activities that are being tracked by our website cookies;
- Calling our hotline;
- Using our apps, websites, and self-service channels and portals; and/or
- Joining our promos, prize raffles, or rewards and loyalty programs.

Information we collect from other sources

Other means of collection of information may be through:
- Our market research initiatives;
- When you visit and use our websites and mobile application; and
- Subsidiaries, affiliates, and third-party business partners to whom you have given consent to share your information to us.

When do we disclose personal information?

There may be instances when we are required to share the information you provided us. In such cases, we ensure that your personal information will be disclosed on a confidential manner, through secure channels and in compliance with the Data Privacy Act and other privacy laws.

We will never share, rent, or sell your personal information to third parties outside of TV5 except in special cases where you have given consent, and in cases described in our privacy policy.

In some instances, we may be required to disclose your personal information to our agents, subsidiaries, affiliates, business partners and other third-party agencies and service providers as part of our regular business operations and for the provision of our programs and services. This means we might share your information with our service providers, contractors, and professional advisers who help us provide our services.

How we protect your personal information

The integrity, confidentiality, and security of your information is important to us. We have implemented technical, organizational, and physical security measures that are designed to protect your information from unauthorized or fraudulent access, alteration, disclosure, misuse, and other unlawful activities.

We also put in effect the following safeguards:

We keep and protect your information using a secured server behind a firewall, encryption and security controls;
We keep your information only for as long as it is necessary for us to (a) provide the products and services that you avail from us, (b) for our legitimate business purposes, (c) to comply with pertinent laws, and (d) for special cases that will require the exercise or defense of legal claims;
We limit the access to your information only to qualified and authorized personnel who are trained to handle your information with strict confidentiality;
We undergo regular audits and rigorous testing of our infrastructure’s security protocols to ensure your data is always protected;
We promptly notify you and the National Privacy Commission when sensitive personal information that may, under the circumstances, be used to enable identity fraud are reasonably believed to have been acquired by an unauthorized person; and
We let you update your information securely to keep our records accurate.

TV5 will not collect, use, or disclose your personal information for any purpose other than the purpose that you may have given your consent for.

What are your choices?

We make sure that we have your consent to continue to collect, use, and disclose your personal information for the purposes that we have identified. We want you to know that you may object or withdraw your consent and/or edit your consent preferences at any time.

If you wish to have access to the personal information in our custody or if you think that the personal information you provided is incomplete, or otherwise inaccurate, you may get in touch with our Data Protection Officer through the contact details provided below. In some instances, we may request for supporting documents or proof before we effect requested changes.

Data Protection Officer
TV5 Network Inc.
Reliance corner Sheridan Streets
Mandaluyong City
tv5dataprivacy@tv5.com.ph

What happens when there are changes in our Policy?

From time to time, we may update our privacy policy and practices to comply with changes in applicable laws and regulatory requirements, adapt to new technologies and protocols, and align with the best practices of the industry.

You will be provided notices if the changes are significant and, if we are required by law, we will obtain your updated consent.