Russian President Vladimir Putin said he agreed to the idea of a Ukrainian ceasefire, but he set a number of strict conditions, raising questions about the nature of the ceasefire.
The Russian president was responding to a 30-day ceasefire plan that Ukraine agreed to after talks with the United States earlier this week. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, who called Putin’s response to the plan “influenced,” urged for more sanctions against Russia.
Meanwhile, the United States imposed further sanctions on Russia’s oil, gas, and banking sectors.
Russian officials said that Putin was expected to hold talks on the ceasefire on Thursday evening with U.S. President Donald Trump’s special envoy, Steve Witkoff, who flew to Moscow that day.
It was not clear whether the meeting actually took place. On Friday, Russian state media cited the air traffic monitoring website Flightradar, stating that a plane believed to be carrying Witkoff had left Moscow. Neither Moscow nor Washington has commented on the matter.
Both Russia and Ukraine reported new hostile drone strikes on Thursday night. Ukraine reported that seven people, including children, were injured in the northeastern city of Kharkiv. Russia reported that a major fire broke out at an oil refinery in the southern city of Tuapse.
“The idea is correct – we support it – but there are issues that we need to discuss,” Putin said regarding the ceasefire proposal at a news conference in Moscow on Thursday.
A ceasefire, he added, “must pave the way for a lasting peace and eliminate the root causes of this crisis.”
“We need to discuss it with our American colleagues and partners,” he said. “Perhaps I will have to talk to Donald Trump.”
“It would be good for the Ukrainian side to achieve a 30-day ceasefire,” Putin added. “We support it, but there are subtleties that need to be considered.”
One area of dispute, Putin said, is Russia’s Kursk region, where Ukraine launched a military invasion last year and seized some territory.
Putin claimed that Russia had taken full control of Kursk, adding that Ukrainian forces had been isolated.
“They are trying to withdraw, but we are controlling it. They have abandoned their equipment.”
“The Ukrainians in Kursk have two options left: surrender or die.”
Top Ukrainian commander Oleksandr Zyrsky said Ukrainian forces would defend strategically important positions in the Kursk region “as long as they are fit and necessary,” despite increasing pressure from Russian forces.
“How will those 30 days be used? To mobilize Ukraine? To rearm? To train people? Or is it none of that? Then the question is—how will it be controlled?” Putin asked, outlining several concerns about the ceasefire implementation.
“Who gives the order to end the fighting? At what cost? Who decides who violated a ceasefire more than 2,000 kilometers away? All of those issues require very careful handling by both sides. Who controls it?”
Putin “is not saying no outright” but “in practice, he is preparing a refusal,” Zelensky said in his late-night video address.
“In fact, Putin is afraid to tell President Trump directly that he wants to continue this war and kill Ukrainians.”
The Russian leader has set a number of conditions, and “nothing will work,” Zelensky stated.
Following Putin’s statements and Zelensky’s response, a clear divide has emerged between the positions of the two sides.
Ukraine wants a two-step process: first, a quick ceasefire, followed by negotiations for a lasting solution.
Russia believes that both processes should be combined into one deal, but both sides continue to argue over their differences.
Ukraine sees this as an opportunity to pressure Russia, showing that Moscow is unwilling to make peace.
Russia, on the other hand, is using the situation as an excuse to highlight its concerns about NATO’s involvement and Ukraine’s sovereignty.
This poses a challenge for Donald Trump, who has stated that the fighting should be over in a matter of days and has been pushing for a quick resolution.
So far, Putin has not appeared willing to cooperate.
Speaking at the White House after Putin’s statement, Trump said he “looks forward” to meeting with the Russian leader and that he hopes Russia will “do the right thing” and agree to the proposed 30-day ceasefire.
“We would like to see a ceasefire from Russia,” Trump said.
Earlier in the day, Trump told reporters in the Oval Office during a meeting with NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte that he had already discussed the matter with Ukraine.
“We were talking with Ukraine about which lands to keep or lose.”
“We were talking to Ukraine about what land they would keep or lose and other parts of the final agreement,” Trump said.
“A lot of details have actually been discussed about the final agreement.”
On the topic of Ukraine joining NATO, Trump responded, “Everybody knows what the answer is.”
After imposing new sanctions on Russian oil and gas, the Trump administration restricted access to U.S. payment systems, making it difficult for other countries to buy Russian fuel.
Initially, Kremlin aide Yuri Ushakov rejected the U.S.-sponsored ceasefire proposal.
On Wednesday, the Kremlin released a video showing Putin in military fatigues arriving in Russia’s Kursk region.
Later, Russia announced that it had recaptured the key city of Sudzha.
Russia launched a full-scale invasion in February 2022 and now controls about 20% of Ukraine’s territory.
According to data analyzed and verified, more than 95,000 Russian soldiers have died in the war. However, the real death toll is believed to be much higher.
The Russian military has not publicly disclosed its battlefield death toll since September 2022. The last official count from the Russian military stated that 5,937 soldiers had died that year.
Ukraine last updated its death toll figures in December 2024, when President Volodymyr Zelensky acknowledged that 43,000 Ukrainian soldiers and officers had died. However, Western analysts believe this number is an underestimate.
