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Russia has criticised a proposed US-Ukraine ceasefire, saying it would merely give Ukrainian forces a reprieve, as Donald Trump’s envoy, Steven Witkoff, arrived in Moscow for peace talks with the Kremlin.
The Kremlin aide Yuri Ushakov said he had told the US national security adviser, Mike Waltz, that Moscow viewed the proposed 30-day ceasefire as “nothing more than a short reprieve for Ukrainian forces”.
“Steps that merely imitate peaceful actions are not needed by anyone in this situation,” Ushakov said in an interview with Russian state television.
Ushakov’s remarks appeared to be the clearest indication to date that the 30-day ceasefire plan, proposed by the US and accepted in principle by Ukraine, is unacceptable to Moscow in its current form.
His comments came as Witkoff’s jet landed in Moscow on Thursday, where the close Trump ally is expected to meet Vladimir Putin to push for a ceasefire after Washington’s talks with Ukrainian officials in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia.
Witkoff, officially Trump’s Middle East envoy, has been acting as a key negotiator in the Russia-Ukraine conflict.
Ukraine said after the talks with top US diplomats in Jeddah on Tuesday that it was ready to accept an immediate 30-day ceasefire, and the US said it would put the proposal to Russia.
However, Moscow has been unwilling to commit to any ceasefire or timeline agreement.
Recent rhetoric from Russian officials has been notably sceptical of a temporary ceasefire, indicating little urgency to reach an agreement or make concessions. With the battlefield gains favouring Russia, Moscow appears to see little incentive to freeze the fighting without gaining major concessions.
Earlier on Wednesday, the Kremlin spokesperson, Dmitry Peskov, cautioned against “getting ahead of things” regarding a Russian response, saying Moscow would discuss the details with the US first.
Russia’s foreign ministry spokesperson, Maria Zakharova, said on Thursday that Moscow was ready to discuss a US-backed peace initiative “as early as today”. But she also indicated that Russia saw little urgency in halting fighting, reiterating it would not accept western peacekeepers in Ukraine as a security guarantee and that they would be targeted if deployed.
“We are ready to discuss the initiatives set out there in future contacts with the United States,” Zakharova said. “Russia will not accept the deployment of foreign armed forces in Ukraine, as it would constitute direct involvement in the conflict, and Moscow will respond with all available means.”
Ukraine has said it would need some kind of security guarantee in order to sign a lasting ceasefire deal.
Moscow’s continued resistance to European peacekeeping forces – seen by Ukraine as the only viable alternative to Nato membership for guaranteeing its security – presents a major obstacle to a peace acceptable to Kyiv.
The Russian president is expected to comment for the first time on the ceasefire proposal on Thursday after his talks with the Belarusian dictator, Alexander Lukashenko, a Moscow ally.
Putin has repeatedly rejected the possibility of a temporary ceasefire, saying that he was focused on addressing what he called the “root causes” of the conflict.
Instead, observers believe Putin is determined to put forward a string of maximalist demands before agreeing to any ceasefire, which is likely to prolong negotiations.
Reuters and Bloomberg have reported that Russia, in discussions with the US, has presented a list of such demands to end the war in Ukraine and reset relations with Washington.
Peskov, the Kremlin’s spokesperson, declined to comment on Thursday on the media reports.
These demands could include the demilitarisation of Ukraine, an end to western military aid, and a commitment to keeping Kyiv out of Nato. Moscow may also push for a ban on foreign troop deployments in Ukraine and international recognition of Putin’s claims to Crimea and the four Ukrainian regions Russia annexed in 2022.
Putin could also revisit some of his broader demands from 2021, which go beyond Ukraine, including a call for Nato to halt the deployment of weapons in member states that joined after 1997, when the alliance began expanding into former communist countries.
Many in Europe fear these conditions for peace could weaken the west’s ability to increase its military presence and could allow Putin to expand his influence across the continent.
Moscow’s confident rhetoric is reinforced by its recent battlefield gains. On Thursday, the Kremlin said its forces were in the final stages of expelling Ukraine’s army from the Kursk region, where Kyiv had seized Russian territory last year in the hope of using it as leverage in peace negotiations.
The Russian military announced on Thursday it had recaptured Sudzha, the largest town Ukraine held in the region, while Kyiv has indicated that an organised withdrawal was under way.
