The Kremlin said on Wednesday it would review details from Washington about a proposal for a 30-day ceasefire in Ukraine before responding, while U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio hoped a deal would be struck within days.
As Moscow considered the plan, President Vladimir Putin, dressed in military fatigues, made a surprise visit to Russia's Kursk region for the first time since Ukrainian troops captured part of it last year.
With Putin's presence highlighting recent Russian advances in Kursk, Valery Gerasimov, head of Russia's General Staff, told the Kremlin leader his troops had repelled Ukrainian forces from 86% of the ground they once held in Kursk. Ukraine had hoped to use that territory as a bargaining chip in any peace talks with Moscow.
The U.S. on Tuesday agreed to resume weapons supplies and intelligence sharing with Ukraine after Kyiv said at talks in Saudi Arabia that it was ready to support a ceasefire proposal.
The Kremlin on Wednesday said it was carefully studying the results of that meeting and awaited details from the U.S.
Rubio said the United States was hoping for a positive response, and that if the answer was "no" then it would tell Washington a lot about the Kremlin's true intentions.
Speaking to reporters when his plane refueled in Ireland, Rubio said on Wednesday: "Here’s what we’d like the world to look like in a few days: Neither side is shooting at each other, not rockets, not missiles, not bullets, nothing ... and the talking starts."
Two people familiar with the matter said Russia has presented Washington with a list of demands for a deal to end the Ukraine war and reset relations with the United States.
The specific demands were not clear, nor whether Russia, which holds just under a fifth of Ukraine, was willing to enter peace talks with Kyiv prior to their acceptance.
The people said the demands were similar to previous Kremlin terms including no NATO membership for Kyiv, recognition of Russia's claim to Crimea and four Ukrainian provinces and an agreement that foreign troops not be deployed in Ukraine.
Rubio said that Europe would have to be involved in any security guarantee for Ukraine, and that the sanctions Europe has imposed would also be on the table.
After a meeting of five European defense ministers, British defense minister John Healey on Wednesday told reporters that work was accelerating on a "coalition of the willing from Europe and beyond" to support Ukraine. French Defense Minister Sebastien Lecornu said about 15 countries had expressed interest.
In Kyiv, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy hailed this week's meeting in Saudi Arabia as constructive, and said a potential 30-day ceasefire with Russia could be used to draft a broader peace deal.
After Russian forces made gains in Ukraine in 2024, Trump reversed U.S. policy on the war, launching bilateral talks with Moscow and suspending military assistance to Ukraine, demanding that it take steps to end the conflict.
Tuesday's agreement signaled a major improvement in U.S.-Ukraine relations after a clash between Trump and Zelenskyy at the White House last month sent them to a new low, but it did not alter the issues underlying the conflict with Russia, Ukrainian sources said.
Russia's invasion of Ukraine in early 2022 has left hundreds of thousands of dead and injured, displaced millions of people, reduced towns to rubble and triggered the biggest confrontation between Moscow and the West in six decades.
During Putin's visit to Kursk, Gerasimov told him Russian forces had regained 1,100 square kilometers of territory including 259 square kilometers in the last five days.
Kyiv's forces have been on the verge of losing their foothold in Kursk. Their main supply lines were cut and they ceded control of the town of Sudzha.
Putin called for Russia's forces to swiftly retake any remaining area from Kyiv's troops. He also made it clear he was considering the creation of a buffer zone in Ukraine's Sumy region, across the border from Kursk.
Deep State, an authoritative Ukrainian site that charts the frontlines of the war, updated its battlefield map to show Ukrainian forces were no longer in control of Sudzha. However, it said fighting was continuing on the outskirts.
Ukraine's top army commander said on Wednesday that Kyiv's troops will keep operating in Kursk region as long as needed and that fighting continued in and around Sudzha.
Putin has repeatedly said he is ready to talk about an end to the war and Trump says he thinks Putin is serious, though other Western leaders disagree.
Reuters reported in November that Putin was ready to negotiate a deal with Trump, but would refuse to make major territorial concessions and would insist Kyiv abandon ambitions to join NATO.
Ukraine says the regions claimed by Moscow have been annexed illegally and that it will never recognize Russian sovereignty over them.
Konstantin Kosachev, chairman of the international affairs committee of the Federation Council, the upper house of Russia's parliament, said on Telegram that Russia's advances in Ukraine must be taken into account in any deal.
"Real agreements are still being written there, at the front. Which they should understand in Washington, too," he said.
© Thomson Reuters 2025.
58 Comments
Underworld
This is a poison pill for Putin. He can’t easily agree without extra provisions, because hardliners would be against that.
But if he doesn’t agree, then the US could blame him for not finding peace.
TaiwanIsNotChina
russia has no interest in peace and will use this gain further advantage, courtesy of the Surrenderer-in-Chief Trump.
TaiwanIsNotChina
*to gain
JJE
The Kursk cauldron has completely collapsed. Hard to deny with a straight face now but some will...
Putin, dressed in army camo, visited the local HQ for a briefing from Gerasimov and the area command.
Spillover effect in Sumy.
Happened faster than anyone anticipated and could be a template for the future.
Thus, the "ball" is not in Russia's court. The sword is in Russia's court.
Underworld
JJE
And yet it turns out that they weren’t encircled at all.
As I predicted, there weren’t hundreds of surrendering troops.
Blacklabel
They didn’t deny being encircled. they just claim they are still fighting.
which with the cease fire fighting should stop so they can go back to Ukraine instead instead of all dying surrounded.
That good, right?
JJE
Putin made this clear just before the meaningless Swiss 'peace summit'. He repeated it a few weeks ago.
As soon as these two things happen, a ceasefire will be in effect absolutely immediately. Moreover, UAF formations will be granted safe passage from the Donbass (i.e. out of those regions).
Then the process of negotiations can begin towards a permanent, legally binding settlement that addresses the root causes of the provoked conflict.
"toppled" = coup
separatist forces = decent people who didn't observe the legal basis for a democratically elected govt being couped
But at least we are getting to know the provoked conflict didn't begin in Feb-2022 and has complex origins.
Primusinter
Syrskyi ... He has long ago lost contact with the encircled Ukr military units in the Kursk region.
Ukrainian General Krasilnikov, who was in charge of the Kursk operation was dismissed by Syrskyi for failing the operation in the Kursk region and sent to join the officer reserve battalion.
Underworld
JJE
The conflict in eastern Ukraine began in 2014 after a Russia-friendly president was toppled in Ukraine's Maidan Revolution and Russia annexed Crimea, with Russian-backed separatist forces then fighting Ukraine's armed forces in the east.
Nope. There was no coup.
The government wasn’t couped.
The conflict was completely unprovoked.
bass4funk
One can hope
Exactly, well said.
JJE
Part I
Now for the ceasefire agreement: Moscow has not seen the terms being offered, as the article mentions in the first sentence, so it is too early to judge.
One thing we can safely conclude from the Jeddah talks, is the EU/UK elites have been utterly sidelined and the Trump administration now firmly decides the position of the former 'collective west'.
This strategy played out in the open. First, Zelensky was humiliated in Washington, being ejected from the WH. Then, he cut off Ukraine’s access to intelligence data and drastically reduced military supplies. He made it clear: either fall in line or lose everything, because the Europeans won’t save you.
For Zelensky, the writing was on the wall. He spent the past few days frantically touring Euro capitals, desperately seeking military guarantees or a last-minute lifeline. Instead, he received only empty words of sympathy and lofty speeches. The reality was unavoidable - the EU was powerless to help.
By effectively signing a political surrender to Trump, Zelensky has pledged loyalty to the former, committing to his agenda. This was confirmed in Jeddah. Now, Zelensky is expected back in Washington - to cement what could be a humiliating agreement for Ukraine.
Whether Moscow agrees to it will hinge on exactly how humiliating it is for the above.
wallace
Trump publicly threatening Putin does not help reach a peace treaty.
bass4funk
More like a warning, big difference.
JJE
Part II - One possible long road to the Jeddah peace agreement.
Exactly one month ago, Trump placed a call to Putin. His personal friend and envoy also visited. While the details of their conversations remain unknown, we can speculate. Former likely expressed his desire for a quick peace deal and inquired about Russia’s conditions. Latter would have reiterated Moscow’s long-standing demands - rooted in the failed Istanbul agreements of 2022 and further solidified by Russia’s terms outlined last June (mentioned in this article). Most importantly, Putin likely asked Trump a critical question: can you guarantee Ukraine and Europe will abide by any deal?
It appears Moscow and Washington have reached an initial framework for a peace agreement. The broad strokes seem to include no military guarantees for Ukraine, no path to NATO membership (neutrality), territorial changes and possibly leadership change - elections - down the track (last speculative).
Both sides have spent the past month preparing. Trump has tightened his grip over Ukraine and pushed EU/UK out of the decision-making process, while the Russian military has made decisive gains, particularly in Kursk, a necessary condition for any ceasefire.
The Kremlin has experienced Western deception here before. If Moscow has learned anything from past negotiations, it will ensure that any deal struck this time is 100% airtight, leaving no room for Ukraine or its EU patrons to wriggle free again (more on this soon).
The Jeddah talks may mark a turning point. Ukraine is being pulled out of the hands of the EU/UK elite and placed firmly under Trump’s control. Whether this will lead to a real peace settlement - or merely a new phase in the geopolitical chess game - remains to be seen.
What is certain, however, is that Brussels/Paris/London have lost their grip on the Ukraine conflict.
geronimo2006
Putin will demand all the concessions he wants as preconditions for a ceasefire, and I think Trump will give them to him. The Europeans/Ukrainians will be very unhappy but won't have much choice but to accept. Europe should have massively increased defense spending at the start of the conflict, but didn't.
Primusinter
What could be more ridiculous than offering a 30-day truce??? Imagine 1945 and the proposal of the losing Hitler to the winning Stalin: let's rest for 30 days, and then will see what happens.
So.... Putin's response will be equally reasonable. Putin is not that fool you are hoping on
lincolnman
Putin playing it coy....
The "surrender" peace plan was likely written in the Kremlin then handed to their lapdog in the White House...
They ain't foolin' no one...
Underworld
geronimo2006
Nope. The Ukrainians won’t accept. And then Trump will be back at square one.
JJE
Part III - Ceasefire as deception and path to future conflict (again).
Assume Part I and especially II are wrong. This may be a setup to 'blame' Russia for 'not wanting peace' by intentionally delivering it an agreement that it is known it won't accept or will be broken by Kyiv and their patrons. Look at timeline of previous agreements, compared with major UAF reverses on the battlefields:
After the Ilovaisk encirclement in 2014 Kyiv wanted peace - Minsk-1 is concluded and they break it immediately.
After the Debaltsevo encirclement in 2015 and they want peace again - Minsk-2 is concluded and they break it immediately, and afterwards openly state that they never even intended to honor it.
Russian troops are outside Kyiv in 2022 with the govt expressing interest in peace - significant headway is made on a deal but they pull out under certain western pressure.
Kursk region collapse in the present of 2025 and suddenly peace is on the table again - let's try what we did already!
The pattern is very clear and after each of the first three, the collective west and Kyiv used those 'peace agreements' to buy time, rearm and regroup. If the same thing is going on here, Moscow is not going to fall for it again. Indeed, it has been burned so many times, particularly by certain previous administrations (there is much more to this too), the current Trump administration is going to really have to double down to win Moscow's trust on this one.
This scenario means the conflict will surely continue if that is the case.
Parts I & II are the path to a settled peace. Time will tell.
Deo Gratias
I pray that Russia accepts the terms of the proposed cease-fire.
And maybe this is just wishful thinking, but my hunch is that they will.
Way to go, Mr. Trump.
And thank you for doing far more in the interest of peace in just two months, than your "decent" predecessor couldn't even bother to do in three years.
HopeSpringsEternal
Takes time for diplomatic paperwork shuffling around, with various cease fire terms negotiated on a back-and- forth basis. That's to be expected but how long is the ?
Once above resolved, then serious long-term peace negotiations begin. Meanwhile war rages unfortunately.
Underworld
HopeSpringsEternal
Won’t be long if Putin’s conditions are completely unreasonable.
HopeSpringsEternal
More reporting has Ukraine Kursk 'salient' collapsing. It seems Putin's in no Diplomatic Cease Fire paperwork rush, as Zelenskyy his Ukraine proxy war Alliance crumbles.
TokyoLiving
Russia won't accept that stupid plan..
To the victory!!!..
Antiquesaving
Putin isn't going to make a deal at this time.
Despite the denials, Russia is advancing at a faster daily pace in Kursk than Ukraine did when it took the area.
So he will drag his response out until he has fully retaken Kursk and most likely a buffer zone inside Ukraine's Sumy region.
Despite the western media doing its best to ignore or downplay the Russian offensive, Russia has advanced not only in Kursk but taken the border area inside the Sumy region on the west side of the Kursk invasion zone and it is likely the plan is to take more territory along the border as a buffer zone.
Until then and with the momentum Russia has going in Kursk, there is zero chance of a ceasefire at this time.
ok1517
U.S. tries to seal a deal
Nice headline!
The only deal Donald and his administration want to achieve will be a deal benefitting them, their clan members, Putain and buddies - definitely not Ukraine! A cease fire will enable Putain to strengthen and regroup his marauding hordes, continuing with his genocide. When will people finally understand that this whole "affair" is nothing but a Ribbentrop Pact Ver 2.0?
fallaffel
I don't know if they want to test Trump's patience. Ukrainian withdrawal from Russia would probably be one of the ceasefire terms anyways, so it seems this is not so meaningful.
Fos
Like Frank Zappa used to say “Politics is the entertainment division of the military industrial complex.”
Washington decides to keep shipping weapons to Ukraine and the warlords of Wall Street are happy. As everything that has to do with the White House: commercial or military interests that often have little to do with ideals.
Lets not forget:
The SIPRI Top 100 arms-producing and military services companies in the world are in order:
Lockheed Martin (USA)
Raytheon Technologies (USA)
Northrop Grumman (USA)
Boeing (USA)
General Dynamics (USA)
Antiquesaving
I don't see Ukraine agreeing to pull out if Kursk with a similar pull out by Russia in another area.
MSM reported that Ukrainian agreed to a freeze at the locations each side presently holds.
Russia has already taken back the more difficult parts of Kursk and as of 24 hours ago even on Ukrainian mapping, Russia has control of 60% of Sudzha the last major urban area left before the border.
Once Ukraine has no place to entrench it's troops and only open fields, the advance by Russia will be faster than it already has.
The only question remaining is once Russia has retaken Kursk will it stop and negotiate a ceasefire or will it continue until Ukraine and create the buffer zone Putin said they would do!
HopeSpringsEternal
We can all agree that wars are messy and hard to stop, especially ones that date back to 2014.
Thankfully DJT is leadership catalyst needed to end this conflict and has a clear voter mandate to do so and not just in the US, but also EU, Ukraine & Russia.
Most People Everywhere want Peace in Ukraine.
DeeZee
The Special Military Operation must continue until Zelensky yields and Demilitarization and Denazification is achieved. There is no other possible outcome as the Russian state is threatened by a Banderist regime in Kiev
itsonlyrocknroll
After what was originally a special military operation President Vladimir Putin own words....
Transcript of Vladimir Putin’s speech announcing ‘special military operation’ in Ukraine
https://www.smh.com.au/world/europe/full-transcript-of-vladimir-putin-s-speech-announcing-a-special-military-operation-20220224-p59zhq.html
Is a devastating three year horror for Europe, every conceivable level....
Militarily, economically, diplomatically.
Statement by the President of the Russian Federation.........December 2024
http://en.kremlin.ru/events/president/news/75614
President Vladimir Putin, is not going to compromise, a ceasefire perhaps, to stall any US political agenda.
President Trump could well have boxed himself into a corner, Putin unlikely do "deals"
"Let me remind you that not after the USSR was created, nor after the Second World War, no one asked people who lived in certain territories included in modern Ukraine how they themselves wanted to build their life". Putin February 24, 2022
Fos
As we all know Washington has masterminded the coup in February 2014 against the democratically elected government in Kiev, after the planned seizure of Russia's historic, legitimate warm-water naval base in Crimea failed. The Russians defended themselves, as they have done against every threat and invasion from the west for almost a century.
OkinawaRider
POTUS peace initiative moving along at good speed. Thank you for the leadership President Trump.
TaiwanIsNotChinaToday 06:45 am JST russia has no interest in peace
Nonsense. Russia wants peace too. Nobody wants to see anymore lives lost.
demands were similar to previous Kremlin terms including no NATO membership for Kyiv, recognition of Russia's claim to Crimea and four Ukrainian provinces and an agreement that foreign troops not be deployed in Ukraine.
No major changes in Russian conditions, realistic enough, POTUS and Putin will work out a deal in good time.
Nope. The Ukrainians won’t accept.
Ukraine will accept the deal POTUS negotiates, that much has become obvious in the last week.
Underworld
Fos
There was no coup.
Didn’t happen.
The Russians were the aggressors, annexing Crimea and starting the war in the Donbas.
Underworld
OkinawaRider
russia has no interest in peace
Nope. They don’t. Which is obvious from their prerequisites: demilitarization of Ukraine.
Nope. The Ukrainians won’t accept.
Nope. They won’t. Ukraine won’t accept demilitarization.
JJE
Kursk is being swept and combed - a few insignificant border villages till the border crossing on the R200 - definitely a mop-up/round-up operation for stragglers: it's in the final, final stage. Syrskyi can spin it as "maneuvering to more advantageous positions". Sounds like a very disorderly withdrawal with some not even aware it had happened. Roads littered with knocked out vehicles.
Even the relevant Wikipedia page has changed the result to 'Russian victory' just a few hours ago (Kursk offensive (2024–present)).
Plus, at the meeting mentioned in the article, Putin had some ominous words about prisoners taken in Kursk - especially those of the non-Ukrainian variety, who he described as 'mercenaries', explaining the 1949 Geneva Convention doesn't apply to them. He also used the word 'terrorist' to describe how some of the cases/activities will be viewed by the prosecutor general's office, if one remembers it accurately. It's all on video. Just last week, a person from, let's just say an English-speaking island in Europe, got a stiff prison sentence for such 'activities' (again, all on video).
Underworld
OkinawaRider
Underworld , The conflict was completely unprovoked.
Except that you can’t explain what the provocation was.
As I predicted, there weren’t hundreds of surrendering troops.
Nope. They weren’t. They weren’t encircled and they didn’t surrender.
sdf_crew_member
Can USA convince Russia and give a guarantee that after 30 days ceasefire it won't have to fight against the newly rearmed enemy? I'm not sure.
HopeSpringsEternal
Zelenskyy won't last long and rather expect he'll see the writing on the wall and step aside soon for the good of Ukraine. War can do strange things to people and is well documented, totally understandable Zelenskyy's in a rage and thus has become unhinged to some degree.
DJT's Admin quietly moving to work with new leadership inside Ukraine, likely Putin's anxious to have Zelenskyy gone as well. Neither Trump nor Putin wants to deal with him and likely they're both waiting for him to step aside.
Peace will happen sooner without Zelenskyy is the growing consensus inside and outside Ukraine.
Underworld
HopeSpringsEternal
The good of Ukraine is served by Zelenskyy as far as Ukrainians are concerned. I can see that Putin wants him gone.
And I can see DJT being frustrated by him, but that’s DJT’s failing, not Zelenskyy’s.
Zelenskyy is neither unhinged nor in a rage.
falseflagsteve
Hopefully this can soon be over and peace can prevail. Elections can be held in Ukraine where hopefully a decent leader who isn’t corrupt and immoral can take power and help the people.
Underworld
falseflagsteve
Zelenskyy is a decent leader who is neither corrupt nor immoral.
HopeSpringsEternal
Zelenskyy 'file' is being put together by DJT's people and it won't offer a great look for him to be sure.
Zelenskyy said himself he didn't know where half the US $money had gone. He might be a great actor, comedian and politician, but the facts are these tricky little things.
DJT can never trust Zelenskyy, based on above and their history, and the people of Ukraine want a leader who can effectively engage DJT. It's the reality, like it or not.
Peace will happen soon without the Zelenskyy "problem"
JJE
During the meeting at the command post with Putin in attendance dressed in field green, mentioned in the article, Valery Vasilyevich said they'd taken 430 prisoners in a little over 24 hours.
fallaffel
Ok, Putin is wearing green clothes, and everyone is supposed to see he means business. No one outside Russia believes these fictional reports though.
OkinawaRider
Except you are wrong again. Denials of reality are not really beneficial to anyone trying to understand the true situation on the ground there.
Over the past week, Russian military took back control of 24 settlements and 259 square kilometers of territory in the Sudzha region. Ukrainian armed forces in Kursk have been encircled and isolated, 430 POW,s taken so far. In some areas, Russians army has advanced and crossed into Ukraine’s Sumy Region.
JJE
More details are being revealed about the pipeline gambit which upended the usual positional fighting, allowing large numbers of Russian infantry to 'pop-up' behind UAF positions. Known as "Operation Flow", it took weeks of meticulous planning, as revealed by TV reports.
Engineers had a huge task of making the pipe safe, oxygen, ventilation, dugout rooms for rest, latrines, assembly points, electric carts for supplies, water, food, ammo - all for over 800 men, who spent 4 days in the actual pipeline section, some 15 clicks long. They busted out just north near Sudzha town itself, fanning out and spilling into strong points, causing panic. Imagine having a battalion tactical group appear behind oneself.
This, of course, was coordinated within the overall combined arms operation in the region itself. With vehicle mobile units linking up with them. Another contributing factor was Russian EW did a number on communications 'all of a sudden', combined with drone overwatch and aviation lending a helping hand.
Fos
Hilarious how the savior of American dream tries to proffer lesson on morality, day in day out :)
If there had been no decision in April 2008 to expand Nato into Ukraine the situation in Europe today and the situation regarding the European Russia relations would look fundamentally different and we would have a peaceful Europe. The catastrophic decision by George W. Bush and Condolezza Rice to expand Nato was totally ill conceived: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0epyHOz-Pbs
What is clear from the beginning is that Russia could not have the US nuclear missiles bases in Ukraine, same as Washington would not allow Moscow to hold military equipment in Canada. It is a very elementary principle of satellite countries and big empires.
Once again this conflict reveals an unbelievable hypocrisy: regional or global powers act based on balances of power and not on motives that have to do with morals and ethics
fallaffel
This is very short term thinking. Hopefully Trump is not this naive. Although he does a lot of stupid things, sometimes he blisters and blunders his way into a good position. I'm willing to give him a chance this time.
HopeSpringsEternal
Nobody believes current Ukraine situation is sustainable, DJT simply delivering MUCH needed Leadership to deliver LONG overdue Peace, so Ukraine can recover.
ian
No idea what the brewing deal is but it should be infinitely better than sacrificing Ukraine to the last person
ian
It's easy to say fight to the death when it's not you and yours dying
Underworld
Fos
Except that you can’t explain what the provocation was.
In 2014, Ukraine couldn't join NATO and Maidan was about joining the EU. Yet, Putin annexed Crimea and started the war in the Donbas.
That was completely unprovoked.
No new NATO nations at all have nuclear missiles installed.
And Putin was fine with Finland, with which is shares a border, joining NATO.
Once again you can't say why it was provoked.
Underworld
HopeSpringsEternal
When do you think Trump will get Putin on board?
OkinawaRider
When do you think Trump will get Putin on board?
Putin will come on board reasonably soon. Unlike the previous occupant of the WH an his administration who were pro war, POTUS is moving fast on delivering the promised ceasefire. Thank you for your leadership on this President trump.
Fos
You need to revise the line of your dialogue with the US (dis)information department.
It is clear that those military dispatches are not updated.
Just as reminder U.S. tactical nuclear weapons remain at six bases in five NATO member countries, Belgium, Germany, Italy, the Netherlands, and Turkey. In some of these countries their national law bans the use of nuclear energy but clearly US economic interests don't.
And these affirmations, once again, shows the level of manipulation of narrative in Washington on a daily basis, to support the profits of the warlords in Wall Street and the petty commissions they distribute to their accomplices.
Underworld
Fos
No new NATO nations at all have nuclear missiles installed.
Those countries joined NATO in the 50's, proving my point.