Putin Says He's Open To 30 Day Ceasefire With Ukraine, But Issues Remain | rssama.com

Russian President Vladimir Putin said Thursday that he agrees successful rule pinch a U.S. connection for a 30-day ceasefire successful Ukraine, but nan position request to beryllium worked out, and he emphasized that it should pave nan measurement to lasting peace.

“So nan thought itself is correct, and we surely support it,” Putin told a news convention successful Moscow. “But location are issues that we request to discuss, and I deliberation that we request to talk it pinch our American colleagues and partners.”

He noted nan request to create a system to power imaginable breaches of nan truce. Another issue, he said, is whether Ukraine could usage nan 30-day ceasefire to rearm.

“We work together pinch nan proposals to halt nan fighting, but we proceed from nan presumption that nan ceasefire should lead to lasting bid and region nan guidelines causes of nan crisis,” Putin said.

Putin made nan remarks conscionable hours aft nan presence of Trump’s envoy successful Moscow for talks connected nan 30-day ceasefire that Ukraine has accepted.

The negotiated effort coincided pinch a Russian declare that its troops person driven nan Ukrainian service retired of a cardinal municipality successful Russia’s Kursk separator region, wherever Moscow has been trying for 7 months to dislodge Ukrainian troops from their foothold.

Putin said it appeared that nan U.S. persuaded Ukraine to judge a ceasefire and that Ukraine is willing because of nan battlefield situation, peculiarly successful Kursk.

Referring to nan Ukrainian troops successful Kursk, he said: “Will each those who are location travel retired without a fight?”

Putin thanked U.S. President Donald Trump “for paying truthful overmuch attraction to nan colony successful Ukraine.”

He besides thanked nan leaders of China, India, Brazil and South Africa for their “noble ngo to extremity nan fighting,” a connection that signaled those countries’ imaginable engagement successful a ceasefire deal.

Russia has said it will not judge peacekeepers from immoderate NATO members to show a prospective truce.

Putin’s overseas affairs advisor said Putin planned to meet pinch Trump’s typical envoy, Steve Witkoff, later Thursday.

The Russian Defense Ministry’s declare that it recaptured nan municipality of Sudzha, a Ukrainian operational hub successful Kursk, came hours aft Putin visited his commanders successful Kursk. The declare could not beryllium independently verified. Ukrainian officials made nary contiguous comment.

The renewed Russian subject push and Putin’s high-profile sojourn to his troops unfolded arsenic Trump seeks a negotiated extremity to nan war, which began much than 3 years agone pinch Russia’s full-scale invasion.

The U.S. connected Tuesday lifted its March 3 suspension of subject assistance for Kyiv aft elder U.S. and Ukrainian officials reported making advancement connected really to extremity nan fighting during talks successful Saudi Arabia.

Trump said Wednesday that “it’s up to Russia now” arsenic his management presses Moscow to work together to nan ceasefire. The U.S. president has made cloaked threats to deed Russia pinch caller sanctions if it does not prosecute pinch bid efforts.

U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent told CNBC Thursday that Trump is “willing to use maximum unit connected some sides,” including sanctions that scope nan highest standard connected Russia.

Zelenskyy chides Russia for slow response

Ukraine has expressed its ain concerns that Russia would usage a truce to regroup and rearm.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy chided Russia connected nan Telegram messaging app Thursday for what he said was its slow consequence to nan ceasefire proposal, accusing Moscow of trying to hold immoderate bid deal. He said that Ukraine is “determined to move quickly toward peace” and hoped U.S. unit would compel Russia to extremity fighting.

The U.S. still has astir $3.85 cardinal successful congressionally authorized backing for early arms shipments to Ukraine, but nan Trump management has shown nary liking truthful acold successful utilizing that authority to nonstop further weapons arsenic it awaits nan result of bid overtures.

By signaling its openness to a ceasefire astatine a clip erstwhile nan Russian subject has nan precocious manus successful nan war, Ukraine has presented nan Kremlin pinch a dilemma — whether to judge a truce and wantonness hopes of making caller gains, aliases cull nan connection and consequence derailing a cautious rapprochement pinch Washington.

The Ukrainian army’s foothold wrong Russia has been under aggravated pressure for months from nan renewed effort by Russian forces, backed by North Korean troops. Ukraine’s daring incursion past August led to nan first business of Russian ungraded by overseas troops since World War II and embarrassed nan Kremlin.

Putin visits Russian subject commanders

Speaking to commanders Wednesday, Putin said that he expected nan subject “to wholly free nan Kursk region from nan force successful nan nearest future.”

Wearing subject fatigues, Putin added that “it’s basal to deliberation astir creating a information area alongside nan authorities border,” successful a awesome that Moscow could effort to grow its territorial gains by capturing parts of Ukraine’s neighboring Sumy region. That thought could complicate a ceasefire deal.

Ukraine launched nan ambush successful a bid to antagonistic nan unceasingly grim news from nan beforehand line, arsenic good arsenic to tie Russian troops distant from nan battlefield wrong Ukraine and to summation a bargaining spot successful immoderate bid talks. But nan incursion did not importantly alteration nan move of nan war.

The Institute for nan Study of War, a Washington-based deliberation tank, assessed precocious Wednesday that Russian forces were successful power of Sudzha, a municipality adjacent to nan separator that antecedently was location to astir 5,000 people.

Ukraine’s apical subject commander, Gen. Oleksandr Syrskyi, said Russian craft had carried retired an unprecedented number of strikes connected Kursk and that arsenic a consequence Sudzha had been almost wholly destroyed. He did not remark connected whether Ukraine still controlled nan colony but said his state was “maneuvering (troops) to much advantageous lines.”

Meanwhile, Maj. Gen. Dmytro Krasylnykov, commandant of Ukraine’s Northern Operational Command, which includes nan Kursk region, was dismissed from his post, he told Ukrainian media outlet Suspilne connected Wednesday. He told nan outlet that he was not fixed a logic for his dismissal, saying “I’m guessing, but I don’t want to talk astir it yet.”

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Associated Press Writer Aamer Madhani successful Washington contributed to this report.

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This communicative has been corrected to show that Suzha is simply a cardinal Ukrainian subject hub, not Kursk’s biggest town.