President Donald Trump had a “good and productive” conversation with Russian President Vladimir Putin on Thursday and is optimistic that an end to the war in Ukraine could be on the horizon.
Trump, in a Friday post on Truth Social, said he and his team “had very good and productive discussions with President Vladimir Putin of Russia yesterday, and there is a very good chance that this horrible, bloody war can finally come to an end.
However, he noted that Russian troops have surrounded Ukrainian forces and put them “IN A VERY BAD AND VULNERABLE POSITION” and that Trump has “strongly requested to President Putin that their lives be spared. This would be a horrible massacre, one not seen since World War II. God bless them all!!!”
Russian forces have indeed applied more pressure on Ukraine’s military, according to the Wall Street Journal.
Russian forces have advanced rapidly in Russia’s Kursk region in recent days, placing supply lines to Ukrainian forces there under fire and leading troops to withdraw from several villages and the town of Sudzha, at times on foot. Ukrainian soldiers in the area and analysts who examine online videos and photos of troop movements haven’t noted a complete encirclement of that magnitude there or elsewhere on the front line.
Putin further “expressed solidarity with Trump’s position,” said Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky agreed to a 30-day ceasefire proposed by the Trump administration earlier this week. The White House indicated that it would lift its freeze on military aid and begin sharing intelligence with Ukraine after having halted it about two weeks ago.
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“Ukraine expressed readiness to accept the U.S. proposal to enact an immediate, interim 30-day ceasefire, which can be extended by mutual agreement of the parties, and which is subject to acceptance and concurrent implementation by the Russian Federation," the U.S. and Ukraine said in a joint statement released by the State Department. "The United States will communicate to Russia that Russian reciprocity is the key to achieving peace.”
For its part, Russia rejected an immediate ceasefire, but suggested it was open to an agreement that would bring long-term peace to the region. During an appearance on Russian media, Putin’s policy adviser, Yuri Ushakov, referred to the proposal as a “breather” that would allow Ukrainian troops to recuperate and prepare for further military action.
Putin later indicated he was more open to a 30-day ceasefire, but with some serious conditions.
The comments by Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov after Putin met with Trump administration envoy Steve Witkoff echoed those of the Russian president, who said Thursday that he in theory accepted the ceasefire proposed by the United States and Ukraine — but only on terms tantamount to a victory over Ukraine.
It was an emphatic "yes, but."
“We agree with the proposals to stop the hostilities,” Putin said in a speech. But only if it leads “to long-term peace and eliminate the root causes of this crisis.”
That term — “root causes” — is a reference to long-held Russian grievances about what it sees as NATO’s eastward expansion. Western officials and analysts reject this, saying Putin wants to subjugate Ukraine, drawing it into Russia’s sphere of influence and away from its European tilt.
The adviser further stated that the Kremlin wants Ukraine to recognize Russia’s annexation of Crimea and other Russia-occupied regions and to agree not to join NATO. He said he “hopes [the United States] knows our position and wants to believe that they will take it into account as we work together going forward.”
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