Russia backs US idea of ceasefire proposal in Ukraine, but wants more details

Putin thanked US President Donald Trump “for paying so much attention to the settlement in Ukraine.”

He also thanked the leaders of China, India, Brazil and South Africa for their “noble mission to end the fighting,” a statement that signalled those countries’ potential involvement in a ceasefire deal.

Russia has said it will not accept peacekeepers from any NATO members to monitor a prospective truce.

Putin’s foreign affairs adviser said Putin planned to meet with Trump’s special envoy, Steve Witkoff, later on Friday.

The Russian Defence Ministry’s claim that it recaptured the town of Sudzha, a Ukrainian operational hub in Kursk, came hours after Putin visited his commanders in Kursk. The claim could not be independently verified. Ukrainian officials made no immediate comment.

The renewed Russian military push and Putin’s high-profile visit to his troops unfolded as Trump seeks a diplomatic end to the war, which began more than three years ago with Russia’s full-scale invasion.

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The US on Wednesday lifted its March 3 suspension of military aid for Kyiv after senior US and Ukrainian officials reported making progress on how to stop the fighting during talks in Saudi Arabia.

Trump had said that “it’s up to Russia now” as his administration presses Moscow to agree to the ceasefire. The US president has made veiled threats to hit Russia with new sanctions if it does not engage with peace efforts.

US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent told CNBC that Trump is “willing to apply maximum pressure on both sides,” including sanctions that reach the highest scale on Russia.

Zelensky chides Russia for slow response

Ukraine has expressed its own concerns that Russia would use a truce to regroup and rearm.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky chided Russia on the Telegram messaging app for what he said was its slow response to the ceasefire proposal, accusing Moscow of trying to delay any peace deal. He said that Ukraine is “determined to move quickly toward peace” and hoped US pressure would compel Russia to stop fighting.

The US still has about $US3.85 billion in congressionally authorised funding for future arms shipments to Ukraine, but the Trump administration has shown no interest so far in using that authority to send additional weapons as it awaits the outcome of peace overtures.

By signalling its openness to a ceasefire at a time when the Russian military has the upper hand in the war, Ukraine has presented the Kremlin with a dilemma – whether to accept a truce and abandon hopes of making new gains, or reject the offer and risk derailing a cautious rapprochement with Washington.

The Ukrainian army’s foothold inside Russia has been under intense pressure for months from the renewed effort by Russian forces, backed by North Korean troops. Ukraine’s daring incursion last August led to the first occupation of Russian soil by foreign troops since World War II and embarrassed the Kremlin.

AP

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