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Russian President Vladimir Putin said Thursday that helium agrees successful rule with a U.S. connection for a 30-day ceasefire successful Ukraine, but the presumption request to beryllium worked out, and helium emphasized that it should pave the mode to lasting peace.
“So the thought itself is correct, and we surely enactment it," Putin told a quality league successful Moscow. “But determination are issues that we request to discuss, and I deliberation that we request to sermon it with our American colleagues and partners.”
He noted the request to make a mechanics to power imaginable breaches of the truce. Another issue, helium said, is whether Ukraine could usage the 30-day ceasefire to proceed mobilization and rearmament.
“We hold with the proposals to halt the fighting, but we proceed from the presumption that the ceasefire should pb to lasting bid and region the basal causes of the crisis,” Putin said.
Putin noted that portion it appeared that the U.S. persuaded Ukraine to judge a ceasefire, Ukraine is funny successful that due to the fact that of the battlefield situation, noting that Ukrainian troops that launched an incursion into Russia’s Kursk portion would beryllium afloat blocked successful the coming days.
“In these conditions, I judge it would beryllium bully for the Ukrainian broadside to unafraid a ceasefire for astatine slightest 30 days,” helium said.
Referring to the Ukrainian troops successful Kursk, helium said: “Will each those who are determination travel retired without a fight?"
Putin thanked U.S. President Donald Trump “for paying truthful overmuch attraction to the colony successful Ukraine.”
He besides thanked the leaders of China, India, Brazil and South Africa for their “noble ngo to extremity the warring to casualties,” a connection that signaled those countries' imaginable engagement successful a ceasefire deal.
Russia has said it volition not judge peacekeepers from immoderate NATO members to show a prospective truce.
THIS IS A BREAKING NEWS UPDATE. AP’s earlier communicative follows below.
An envoy of U.S. President Donald Trump arrived Thursday successful Moscow for talks connected an American-proposed 30-day ceasefire that Ukraine has accepted, but a elder Russian authoritative said the truce would lone assistance Kyiv by giving its weary and shorthanded subject a break.
The diplomatic effort coincided with a Russian assertion that its troops person driven the Ukrainian service retired of a cardinal municipality successful Russia's Kursk borderline region, wherever Moscow has been trying for 7 months to dislodge Ukrainian troops from their foothold.
A U.S. authoritative confirmed the accomplishment of Trump’s peculiar envoy, Steve Witkoff. The authoritative spoke connected the information of anonymity due to the fact that they were not authorized to remark connected the matter.
The Russian Defense Ministry’s assertion that it recaptured the municipality of Sudzha, a Ukrainian operational hub successful Kursk, came hours aft President Vladimir Putin visited his commanders successful Kursk. The assertion could not beryllium independently verified. Ukrainian officials made nary contiguous comment.
The renewed Russian subject propulsion and Putin's high-profile sojourn to his troops unfolded arsenic Trump seeks a diplomatic extremity to the war, which began much than 3 years agone with 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 however to halt the warring during talks successful Saudi Arabia.
Trump said Wednesday that “it’s up to Russia now” arsenic his medication presses Moscow to hold to the ceasefire. The U.S. president has made veiled threats to deed Russia with caller sanctions if it does not prosecute with bid efforts.
Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov would not remark connected Moscow’s presumption of the ceasefire proposal.
“Before the talks start, and they haven’t started yet, it would beryllium incorrect to speech astir it successful public,” helium told reporters.
U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent told CNBC Thursday that Trump is “willing to use maximum unit connected some sides,” including sanctions that scope the highest standard connected Russia.
Senior U.S. officials person said they anticipation to spot Russia halt attacks connected Ukraine wrong the adjacent fewer days.
Russia complains astir ceasefire proposal
Yuri Ushakov, Putin’s overseas argumentation adviser, complained successful televised remarks Thursday that a ceasefire would assistance a “temporary interruption for the Ukrainian military.”
Speaking aboriginal to reporters successful the Kremlin, Putin’s overseas affairs adviser, Yuri Ushakov, reaffirmed that the projected ceasefire would “give america nothing,” adding that it would “only springiness the Ukrainians a accidental to regroup, consolidate their forces and support doing the aforesaid successful the future.”
Ushakov would not remark connected Witkoff’s talks successful Moscow, saying that the parties agreed to support them confidential.
He said Russia wants a “long-term peaceful colony that takes into relationship Moscow’s interests and concerns.” His comments echoed statements from Putin, who has repeatedly said a impermanent ceasefire would payment Ukraine and its Western allies.
Ukraine has leveled accusations akin to Ushakov's, claiming Russia would usage a truce to regroup and rearm.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy chided Russia connected the Telegram messaging app Thursday for what helium said was its dilatory effect to the ceasefire proposal, accusing Moscow of trying to hold immoderate bid deal. He said that Ukraine is “determined to determination rapidly toward peace” and hoped U.S. unit would compel Russia to halt fighting.
The U.S. inactive has astir $3.85 cardinal successful congressionally authorized backing for aboriginal arms shipments to Ukraine, but the Trump medication has shown nary involvement truthful acold successful utilizing that authorization to nonstop further weapons arsenic it awaits the result of bid overtures.
By signaling its openness to a ceasefire astatine a clip erstwhile the Russian subject has the precocious manus successful the war, Ukraine has presented the Kremlin with a dilemma — whether to judge a truce and wantonness hopes of making caller gains, oregon cull the connection and hazard derailing a cautious rapprochement with Washington.
The Ukrainian army’s foothold wrong Russia has been nether aggravated unit for months from the renewed effort by Russian forces, backed by North Korean troops. Ukraine's daring incursion past August led to the archetypal concern of Russian ungraded by overseas troops since World War II and embarrassed the Kremlin.
Putin visits Russian subject commanders
Speaking to commanders Wednesday, Putin said that helium expected the subject “to wholly escaped the Kursk portion from the force successful the nearest future.”
Wearing subject fatigues, Putin added that “it’s indispensable to deliberation astir creating a information portion alongside the 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 the raid successful a bid to antagonistic the unceasingly grim quality from the beforehand line, arsenic good arsenic to gully Russian troops distant from the battlefield wrong Ukraine and to summation a bargaining spot successful immoderate bid talks. But the incursion did not importantly alteration the dynamic of the war.
The Institute for the Study of War, a Washington-based deliberation tank, assessed precocious Wednesday that Russian forces were successful power of Sudzha, a municipality adjacent to the borderline 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 fig of strikes connected Kursk and that arsenic a effect Sudzha had been astir wholly destroyed. He did not remark connected whether Ukraine inactive controlled the 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 the Kursk region, was dismissed from his post, helium told Ukrainian media outlet Suspilne connected Wednesday. He told the outlet that helium was not fixed a crushed for his dismissal, saying “I’m guessing, but I don’t privation to speech astir it yet.”
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Associated Press Writer Aamer Madhani successful Washington contributed to this report.
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Follow AP’s sum of the warfare successful Ukraine astatine https://apnews.com/hub/russia-ukraine
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This communicative has been corrected to amusement that Suzha is simply a cardinal Ukrainian subject hub, not Kursk’s biggest town.
