Zelenskyy’s chief of staff urges Europe to keep financial pressure on Russia

As truce talks begin in Jeddah, Andriy Yermak writes for the Guardian that continent must remain united'

• With US leadership and European support we Ukrainians may at last have peace. But don't let Russia off the hook

Europe must keep the financial pressure on Russia even though a ceasefire has never seemed closer in Ukraine's three-year war with Moscow, the chief of staff to Volodymyr Zelenskyy, the Ukrainian president, has written in the Guardian as he starts talks in Jeddah with the US about the terms of any truce.

The US secretary of state, Marco Rubio, has convened the talks to test Ukraine's willingness to make concessions to Russia to achieve peace, but Andriy Yermak has urged Europe to remain united to punish Russian aggression now and deter it in the future".