Russian President Vladimir Putin has rejected a U.S.-backed 30-day ceasefire proposal for Ukraine, as American diplomats arrived in Moscow Thursday to push for an agreement that would mark the first significant pause in the 27-month war.
Envoy Steve Witkoff led the U.S. delegation that landed at Moscow’s Vnukovo airport, traveling from Doha, Qatar on a Gulfstream executive jet. The team has been tasked with securing Russian acceptance of the ceasefire framework that Ukraine agreed to during talks in Saudi Arabia on Tuesday.
President Donald Trump has backed the peace deal, and warned that rejecting a deal “would be very bad for Russia… I don’t want to do that because I want to get peace”.
The Kremlin has responded with a flat rejection of the ceasefire proposal, and said instead that it needs to study the details before taking a position. This rejection of compromise reflects Putin’s strategic gamble that Russian forces hold a strong battlefield advantage, and will push for more gains — a bet that he can force the Trump administration to give more concessions.
“This is the closest we have been to peace in this war,” White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt said Wednesday, as the administration urged Moscow to sign Trump’s proposed agreement. “The ball is in Russia’s court.”
Putin’s spokesman indicated the Russian president may make a public statement on Ukraine later Thursday, following meetings with Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko, who arrived in Moscow the same day as the American delegation.
A potential phone call between Trump and Putin has been suggested but not confirmed by either side.
The ceasefire negotiations come at a pivotal moment in the conflict. Russian forces have recently accelerated their advances in eastern Ukraine and have nearly recaptured territory in Russia’s Kursk region that Ukrainian forces seized in August in a surprise offensive.
Putin visited the Kursk front line Wednesday dressed in military fatigues rather than his characteristic suit, ordering troops to retake the region “as soon as possible” – a move that analysts say signals his willingness to continue fighting.
Kremlin spokesman Sergei Markov said that Russia wouldn’t accept the U.S. deal while they had a battlefield advantage, and demanded further concessions for the temporary truce.
“Russia could say ‘yes, but’ to a ceasefire offer, accepting a 30-day truce on condition that an embargo is imposed on arms supplies to Ukraine,” Markov said.
The timing of the ceasefire push is significant, as it follows Trump’s resumption of military and intelligence support to Ukraine – support that had been paused as an act of good faith during earlier negotiations. This carrot-and-stick approach signals the Trump administration’s determination to bring both sides to the table.
“There is a paradox in these talks and peace initiatives – Ukraine and Russia are both vying for Donald Trump’s attention and seeking to improve their positions with his help,” noted Moscow-based foreign policy expert Alexei Naumov.
As diplomatic efforts intensify, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has indicated willingness to negotiate, while Putin will continue to push his advantage to gain further concessions.