For Merz, who took office only this week, it will be his first visit to Ukraine as chancellor.
Macron had not been to Kyiv since June 2022, when he went with the Italian and German leaders of the time.
“We are clear the bloodshed must end. Russia must stop its illegal invasion,” the leaders said in a joint statement.
“Alongside the US, we call on Russia to agree a full and unconditional 30-day ceasefire to create the space for talks on a just and lasting peace.”
They warned: “We will continue to increase our support for Ukraine. Until Russia agrees to an enduring ceasefire, we will ratchet up pressure on Russia’s war machine.”
They are later scheduled to host a virtual meeting to update other European leaders on moves to create a European force that could provide Ukraine with security after the war.
Such a force “would help regenerate Ukraine’s armed forces after any peace deal and strengthen confidence in any future peace”, the leaders’ statement said.
Russia has said it will not tolerate any Western military presence in Ukraine once the fighting ends and has warned the proposal could spark war between Moscow and NATO.
“ADVANTAGE FOR UKRAINE”
The symbolic show of European unity comes a day after Putin struck a defiant tone at a Moscow parade marking 80 years since victory in World War II.
In an interview with the ABC news channel on Saturday, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said arms deliveries from Ukraine’s allies would have to stop before Russia would agree to a ceasefire.
A truce would otherwise be an “advantage for Ukraine” at a time when “Russian troops are advancing … in quite a confident way” on the front, Peskov said, adding that Ukraine was “not ready for immediate negotiations”.
Europe and Ukraine argue more pressure is needed on Russia to respond.
After meeting Tusk in France on Friday, Macron called for the speedy drafting of a US-Europe plan for the 30-day truce that would be backed by “massive economic sanctions” if one side “betrays it”.
Finnish President Alexander Stubb said at a meeting on Ukraine in Norway on Friday that the “United States has two sanctions packages on the table” and that countries were discussing action in the “banking and the energy sector”.
A French presidential official, who asked not to be named, said the visit just four days after Merz took office “demonstrates Europe’s unity, strength, and responsiveness. And it mirrors Putin’s celebrations.”
