President Vladimir Putin donned military fatigues for a surprise visit to troops in Russia’s western Kursk region on Wednesday where he ordered them to press their lightning advance and swiftly retake the rest of the area from Ukrainian forces.
Putin made his visit after Washington asked him to consider a 30-day ceasefire proposal backed by Ukraine, and after Russian forces retook a swathe of territory in Kursk, forcing Ukrainian troops to fall back and cede control of the town of Sudzha.
Putin’s top foreign policy aide said on Thursday that he had told Washington that a 30-day ceasefire proposed by the United States would simply give Kyiv’s forces a respite.
Yuri Ushakov, a former ambassador to Washington who speaks for Putin on major foreign policy issues, told state television that he had spoken to US National Security Adviser Mike Waltz on Wednesday to outline Russia’s position on the ceasefire.
“I stated our position that this is nothing other than a temporary respite for the Ukrainian military, nothing more,” Ushakov said.
Trump’s Middle East special envoy Steve Witkoff arrived in Moscow on Thursday to meet Putin.
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