By the time Vladimir Putin spoke in a televised address in the early hours of May 11th—bluntly ignoring the ultimatum while offering direct negotiations laden with multiple strings—the moment had lost all clarity.

Major European powers threw their weight behind an unconditional 30-day Ukraine ceasefire on Saturday, with the backing of U.S. President Donald Trump, and threatened President Vladimir Putin with "massive" new sanctions if he did not accept within days.

With European leaders calling for a 30-day ceasefire in the war in Ukraine starting Monday and claiming President Donald Trump’s support for the ultimatum, the possibility of additional sanctions on Russia is moving into focus.