Russian President Vladimir Putin mentioned Thursday (March 13, 2025) that he agrees in principle with a U.S. proposal for a 30-day ceasefire in Ukraine, however the phrases should be labored out, and he emphasised that it ought to pave the way in which to lasting peace.
“So the idea itself is correct, and we certainly support it,” Mr. Putin advised a information convention in Moscow. “But there are issues that we need to discuss, and I think that we need to discuss it with our American colleagues and partners.”
He famous the necessity to develop a mechanism to manage attainable breaches of the truce. Another challenge, he mentioned, is whether or not Ukraine may use the 30-day ceasefire to rearm.
“We agree with the proposals to halt the fighting, but we proceed from the assumption that the ceasefire should lead to lasting peace and remove the root causes of the crisis,” Mr. Putin mentioned.
Also Read | Ukraine ceasefire wants ‘reworking’, would give nothing to Russia, says Putin’s shut aide
Mr. Putin made the remarks simply hours after the arrival of Trump’s envoy in Moscow for talks on the 30-day ceasefire that Ukraine has accepted.
The diplomatic effort coincided with a Russian declare that its troops have pushed the Ukrainian military out of a key city in Russia’s Kursk border area, the place Moscow has been making an attempt for seven months to dislodge Ukrainian troops from their foothold.
Mr. Putin mentioned it appeared that the U.S. persuaded Ukraine to just accept a ceasefire and that Ukraine is due to the battlefield scenario, notably in Kursk.
Referring to the Ukrainian troops in Kursk, he mentioned: “Will all those who are there come out without a fight?”
Also Read | Russia says it has retaken Kursk’s greatest city from Ukraine as U.S. awaits Putin’s ceasefire response
Mr. Putin thanked U.S. President Donald Trump “for paying so much attention to the settlement in Ukraine.”
He additionally thanked the leaders of China, India, Brazil and South Africa for their “noble mission to end the fighting,” a press release that signalled these nations’ potential involvement in a ceasefire deal.
Russia has mentioned it won’t settle for peacekeepers from any NATO members to watch a potential truce.
Mr. Putin’s overseas affairs adviser mentioned Putin deliberate to satisfy with Trump’s particular envoy, Steve Witkoff, later Thursday (March 13, 2025).
The Russian Defence Ministry’s declare that it recaptured the city of Sudzha, a Ukrainian operational hub in Kursk, got here hours after Mr. Putin visited his commanders in Kursk. The declare couldn’t be independently verified. Ukrainian officers made no instant remark.
The renewed Russian navy push and Mr. Putin’s high-profile go to to his troops unfolded as Mr. Trump seeks a diplomatic finish to the conflict, which started greater than three years in the past with Russia’s full-scale invasion.
The U.S. on Tuesday (March 11, 2025) lifted its March 3 suspension of navy assist for Kyiv after senior U.S. and Ukrainian officers reported making progress on find out how to cease the preventing throughout talks in Saudi Arabia.
Mr. Trump mentioned Wednesday (March 12, 2025) that “it’s up to Russia now” as his administration presses Moscow to conform to the ceasefire. The U.S. president has made veiled threats to hit Russia with new sanctions if it doesn’t interact with peace efforts.
U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent advised CNBC Thursday (March 13, 2025) that Mr. Trump is “willing to apply maximum pressure on both sides,” together with sanctions that attain the very best scale on Russia.
Ukraine has expressed its personal issues that Russia would use a truce to regroup and rearm.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy chided Russia on the Telegram messaging app Thursday (March 13, 2025) for what he mentioned was its gradual response to the ceasefire proposal, accusing Moscow of making an attempt to delay any peace deal. He mentioned that Ukraine is “determined to move quickly toward peace” and hoped U.S. strain would compel Russia to cease preventing.
The U.S. nonetheless has about $3.85 billion in congressionally approved funding for future arms shipments to Ukraine, however the Trump administration has proven no curiosity thus far in utilizing that authority to ship extra weapons because it awaits the result of peace overtures.
By signalling its openness to a ceasefire at a time when the Russian navy has the higher hand in the conflict, Ukraine has offered the Kremlin with a dilemma — whether or not to just accept a truce and abandon hopes of creating new good points, or reject the supply and danger derailing a cautious rapprochement with Washington.
The Ukrainian Army’s foothold inside Russia has been below intense strain for months from the renewed effort by Russian forces, backed by North Korean troops. Ukraine’s daring incursion final August led to the primary occupation of Russian soil by overseas troops since World War II and embarrassed the Kremlin.
Speaking to commanders Wednesday (March 12, 2025), Mr. Putin mentioned that he anticipated the navy “to completely free the Kursk region from the enemy in the nearest future.”
Wearing navy fatigues, Mr. Putin added that “it’s necessary to think about creating a security zone alongside the state border,” in a sign that Moscow may attempt to broaden its territorial good points by capturing elements of Ukraine’s neighbouring Sumy area. That concept may complicate a ceasefire deal.
Ukraine launched the raid in a bid to counter the unceasingly grim information from the entrance line, in addition to to attract Russian troops away from the battlefield inside Ukraine and to achieve a bargaining chip in any peace talks. But the incursion didn’t considerably change the dynamic of the conflict.
The Institute for the Study of War, a Washington-based assume tank, assessed late Wednesday that Russian forces have been in management of Sudzha, a city near the border that beforehand was dwelling to about 5,000 folks.
Ukraine’s prime navy commander, Gen. Oleksandr Syrskyi, mentioned Russian plane had carried out an unprecedented variety of strikes on Kursk and that in consequence Sudzha had been nearly fully destroyed. He didn’t touch upon whether or not Ukraine nonetheless managed the settlement however mentioned his nation was “maneuvering (troops) to more advantageous lines.”
Meanwhile, Maj. Gen. Dmytro Krasylnykov, commander of Ukraine’s Northern Operational Command, which incorporates the Kursk area, was dismissed from his submit, he advised Ukrainian media outlet Suspilne on Wednesday (March 12, 2025). He advised the outlet that he was not given a motive for his dismissal, saying “I’m guessing, but I don’t want to talk about it yet.”
Published – March 13, 2025 09:54 pm IST
