Russian lawmakers have said Vladimir Putin would be wary of agreeing to a US-Ukraine proposed ceasefire deal at a time when his army is making gains on the battlefield as Russian forces continue to beat back Kyiv's troops in Kursk.
Ukraine's army launched a lightning offensive into the Russian border region last August, seizing a chunk of land that Volodymyr Zelensky hoped to use as leverage in ceasefire negotiations.
But the incursion force has sustained significant losses in recent weeks with Russian troops taking back several settlements, including most of the town of Sudzha.
Footage emerged this morning of Moscow's soldiers flying the tricolour in Sovetsyaka Square in central Sudzha as other clips purported to show fleeing Ukrainian vehicles being targeted by Russian drones.
'Our troops are successfully advancing in the Kursk Region, liberating areas that were under the control of the militants. The dynamic is good,' Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters today.
News of Russian gains in the embattled Kursk region come after US Secretary of State Marco Rubio said Kyiv had accepted a proposed 30-day ceasefire following eight-hour long negotiations in the Saudi Arabian port city of Jeddah yesterday.
Volodymyr Zelensky declared that the Kremlin must respond after Ukraine showed it is ready and willing to enter peace negotiations by accepting Washington's proposal.
'Everything depends on whether Russia wants a ceasefire and silence, or it wants to continue killing people,' Zelensky said at a press conference in Kyiv today.
'Ukraine has demonstrated its position... and today Russia has to respond to this. I have emphasised this many times, none of us trust the Russians,' he said, adding that 'we can count on strong steps' from the US should Moscow decline the proposal.
Russians bear flags in Sovetskaya Square in the centre of Sudzha, a key town in Russia's embattled Kursk region
A drone view shows men dressed in military uniform waving flags, including the state flag of Russia, and standing on a water tower in the centre of Sudzha town in the course of Russia-Ukraine conflict
Volodymyr Zelensky declared that the Kremlin must respond after Ukraine showed it is ready and willing to enter peace negotiations by accepting Washington's proposal.
Western leaders said the 'ball is now in Russia's court' as Washington plans to present a ceasefire proposal to Putin and the Kremlin
Rubio said Washington will now present the deal to the Kremlin.
The result in Riyadh is a masterful piece of diplomacy from Kyiv: at the cost of a notional promise to observe a bilateral ceasefire and warm words for the Trump administration, President Zelenskyy restored American military and intelligence support, avoided being locked into a minerals deal in the absence of security guarantees, and put the ball firmly in Moscow's court.'
Sam Greene, Director for Democratic Resilience at the Center for European Policy Analysis (CEPA), described the ceasefire proposal as a 'masterful piece of diplomacy' from Kyiv.
'At the cost of a notional promise to observe a bilateral ceasefire and warm words for the Trump administration, President Zelensky restored American military and intelligence support, avoided being locked into a minerals deal in the absence of security guarantees, and put the ball firmly in Moscow's court, Greene said.
Russian lawmakers, however, appeared dismissive.
'Russia is advancing (on the battlefield), so it will be different with Russia,' senior Russian senator Konstantin Kosachev noted.
'Any agreements should be on our terms, not American,' he said, while lawmaker Mikhail Sheremet told state news agency TASS that Moscow 'will not tolerate being strung along.'
'It is difficult for Putin to agree to this in its current form,' another senior source, who spoke on condition of anonymity, told Reuters. 'Putin has a strong position because Russia is advancing.'
Others said that the ceasefire proposal looked from Moscow's perspective to be a 'trap' because Putin would find it hard to halt the war without some concrete guarantees or pledges.
Russia controls just under a fifth of Ukraine's total landmass and has been edging westward for months while Ukraine's grip on territory in Kursk is slipping.
Yesterday, Russia's Defence Ministry claimed its troops had 'liberated 12 settlements during the offensive... and more than 100 square kilometres of the Kursk region'.
Russia's Chief of General Staff, Valery Gerasimov, personally visited Kursk earlier this week and doled out medals to frontline soldiers involved in the operation.
There were concerns that Ukrainian units still in and around the town of Sudzha could be cut off from supply lines as Russian troops advanced from the north and south in a pincer movement earlier this week.
But Ukrainian military officials said their soldiers had retreated to better defensive positions.
A Russian drone prepares to strike a fleeing Ukrainian pickup truck driving out of Sudzha
Russia escalates overnight attacks on Ukraine, killing and wounding crew and port workers in Odesa grain ship strike, destroying homes in Dnipro, Kharkiv, Sumy and hitting Krivyi Rih
Russia escalates overnight attacks on Ukraine, killing and wounding crew and port workers in Odesa grain ship strike, destroying homes in Dnipro, Kharkiv, Sumy and hitting Krivyi Rih
Secretary of State Marco Rubio and U.S. National Security Advisor Mike Waltz yesterday agreed a ceasefire proposal with Ukrainian officials
Meanwhile, fighting continues to rage elsewhere as the US prepares to present the a ceasefire proposal to the Kremlin.
Russian missiles killed four Syrian men between the ages of 18 and 24 on a ship docked at the southern port of Odesa late Tuesday, where it was loading Ukrainian wheat for Algeria, Infrastructure Minister Oleksii Kuleba said.
Another missile killed a woman in Kryvih Rih, Zelensky's hometown in central Ukraine, authorities said, with projectiles battering targets in Kharkiv, Sumy and Dnipro.
Speaking after yesterday's talks in Jeddah, Rubio said the White House would know 'what the impediment to peace is' once the terms of the proposed ceasefire are relayed to the Kremlin.
'Today, we've made an offer that the Ukrainians have accepted, which is to enter into a ceasefire and into immediate negotiations to end this conflict in a way that's enduring and sustainable,' he declared.
'We're going to tell (the Russians) this is what's on the table. Ukraine is ready to stop shooting and start talking. And now it'll be up to them to say yes or no.
'If they say no, then we'll unfortunately know what the impediment is to peace here.'
Both presidents Trump and Zelensky, who just weeks ago engaged in a bitter spat in the White House that saw Washington temporarily restrict military aid and intelligence sharing from Kyiv, also lauded the deal.
Last night Trump said he would talk directly to Putin, telling reporters: 'It takes two to tango. I hope he will agree.'
Zelensky added: 'We see (the ceasefire proposal) as a positive step and are ready to take it. Now, it is up to the United States to convince Russia to do the same.
Russian sources however questioned why the US was trumpeting Ukraine's acceptance of a ceasefire deal on the same day Washington restored military aid and intelligence sharing to Kyiv.
A Russian self-propelled multiple rocket launcher is fired toward Ukrainian position at an undisclosed location in the Kursk region
President Donald Trump has now lifted the military aid and intelligence sharing pause to Ukraine
The wreckage of a Ukrainian armoured vehicle is seen in this image released by Russian forces in Kursk
Russian forces published videos of their soldiers raising Russian flags above damaged buildings in Kursk
British Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer and French President Emmanuel Macron lauded the developments in Saudi Arabia yesterday, declaring the 'ball is now in Russia's court'.
But Royal Navy veteran Vice Admiral Bob Cooling told MailOnline: 'Trump has no track record of successful international negotiation with dictators.
'He was appalling with North Korea, that completely failed. He failed in Iran. Now he thinks he will be able to do a deal with Putin.
'Putin is in an immensely strong position. Why should he listen to Trump?'
Vice Adm Cooling, who had an illustrious 32-year career with Britain's Senior Service - which included working as the chief of staff to Nato's Supreme Allied Command Transformation hub at Norfolk, Virginia, feared Putin would strong-arm Trump into a Ukraine peace deal that better suited the Russian tyrant.
'Putin will say three things: 'I'm very disappointed with you, Donald, because you didn't engage me in these peace talks and or seek my opinions. I need compensation on your behalf',' Vice Adm Cooling warned.
'Secondly, he will tell Trump 'I am winning this war, so I don't want ceasefire. I want conditions'.
'Thirdly, those conditions will be that Ukraine immediately cedes the Donbas region to Russia - and that there will be no discussion of ever giving back Crimea.'
While the US and Ukraine hashed out a ceasefire proposal, European nations were preparing to meet to discuss efforts to continue their support of Kyiv and ramp up their defence spending.
Britain's Defence Secretary John Healey will meet his counterparts from France, Germany, Italy and Poland in Paris today as Starmer and Macron lead efforts to pull together a European stabilisation force that could deploy to Ukraine following a peace agreement.
Speaking ahead of the meeting with Europe's top defence spenders (E5), Healey said: 'We are at a decisive moment for the future of Ukraine and for the security of Europe.
'The UK will continue to lead alongside our European partners and push for a just and lasting peace.
'European nations are stepping up and as E5 nations we must take on more responsibility for European security.
'By deepening our defence cooperation, boosting spending and enhancing our collective strength, we send a clear message. We will not waver in standing with Ukraine and defending our shared values.'
