Update(1312ET): Russia's President Putin in new Thursday remarks declared that his forces are beating back the Ukrainians on all fronts, and especially now in Kursk. "Command and control of Ukrainian troops inside the incursion zone is no longer possible," Putin said. "During the first stages, the Ukrainian military attempted to leave this zone in small groups. This is no longer possible."
"They are leaving their military equipment behind, because there is no way to evacuate it. It will remain there, that’s for sure," he added. Trump envoy Steve Witkoff is soon expected to meet with Putin again. While the Russian leader said he is 'for' achieving a 30-day ceasefire, he has raised serious questions about what stipulations must be added. In essence at this point Putin is conveying a list of objections as follows, via state media translation:
“We also want guarantees that during the 30-day ceasefire, Ukraine will not conduct mobilization, will not train soldiers, and will not receive weapons,” Putin said during a press briefing with his Belarusian counterpart Alexander Lukashenko in Moscow.
The president pointed out that Russian troops are advancing along nearly 2,000 kilometers of frontline, and halting military actions could disrupt ongoing operations. Ukrainian forces could use a ceasefire period to regroup, receive more weapons, and train fresh recruits, he warned.
“These 30 days — how will they be used? To continue forced mobilization in Ukraine? To receive more arms supplies? To train newly mobilized units? Or will none of this happen?” Putin asked.
Enforcing a ceasefire over such a vast battlefield would be difficult, he added, violations could be easily disputed, leading to a blame game between both sides. Systems of “control and verification” to monitor a ceasefire are not in place but should be agreed.
Some of these demands were no doubt communicated to the US side, with Reuters reporting that the Kremlin's formal list of requirements to achieve permanent ceasefire have been delivered:
Russia has laid out a list of demands to U.S. authorities that need to be met in order for the war in Ukraine to end, Reuters reported, citing two people "familiar with the matter."
The requests are also aimed at resetting the Kremlin's relations with Washington, D.C., the outlet noted.
The list of demands came just before Russia’s Defense Ministry announced it has taken over Sudzha, the biggest town in the Kursk region that has been overrun by Ukrainian forces since the surprise cross-border offensive in August 2024. The takeover came after Russian President Vladimir Putin visited military headquarters in the region and spoke to military commanders there.
The exact content of these demands are not yet known, but at least some of it was probably echoed in Putin's Thursday remarks.
Russia has rejected the US-proposed 30-day ceasefire which came out of the Jeddah meeting with Ukraine, describing that it would only allow Ukrainian forces to regroup.
"This is nothing other than a temporary time-out for Ukrainian soldiers, nothing more. Our goal is a long-term peaceful resolution," Yuri Ushakov, a senior aide to Russian President Vladimir Putin, told Russian state television. "Our goal is a long-term peaceful settlement that takes into account the legitimate interests of our country and our well-known concerns. It seems to me that no one needs any steps that (merely) imitate peaceful actions in this situation," he said. He further expressed that it would "give nothing" to Russia.
This was the first official public response on the issue from the Kremlin, after it said Wednesday it was "studying" the proposal. President Trump’s special envoy, Steve Witkoff, is currently en route to Moscow to discuss the temporary truce proposal.
Ushakov says he has communicated Moscow's rejection of the 30-day ceasefire plan to Trump's national security adviser Mike Waltz.
None of this comes as a great surprise, given not only that Russian forces have the clear battlefield momentum and upper-hand, but back in January President Putin explained why he would never settle for any ceasefire that's temporary.
He had said at the time, "The goal should not be a short truce, not some kind of respite for regrouping forces and rearmament with the aim of subsequently continuing the conflict, but a long-term peace based on respect for the legitimate interests of all people, all nations living in this region."
The Russian leader had on Wednesday visited Kursk region for the first time since Ukraine's incursion there and holding of territory which began in August.
And the optics and symbolism were not missed on Russia's enemies, as Putin was dressed in military fatigues as he addressed top generals, which is a rarity.
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