President Donald Trump’s Middle East envoy, Steve Witkoff, has landed in Moscow ahead of ceasefire talks with Russia, state media reported on Thursday, as a prominent Kremlin aide suggested Moscow would reject a pause in fighting as a “respite” for Kyiv.
Questions Swirl Over Russian Response to Ceasefire
Kyiv said following a meeting between senior Ukrainian officials and a U.S. delegation in Saudi Arabia on Tuesday that it had agreed to a full, 30-day ceasefire. Officials then said the ball was now “in Russia’s court.”
Kremlin spokesperson, Dmitry Peskov, said on Wednesday that Moscow was waiting for U.S.-supplied information before commenting further. Reuters reported on Wednesday that Moscow had handed over a list of demands to the U.S., citing two people familiar with the matter. This is expected to include a ban on NATO membership for Ukraine, international recognition of Russian control over the territories it annexed from Ukraine, and no foreign troops stationed Ukraine, according to the report.
Russian opposition outlet Verstka reported on Wednesday that the joint U.S. and Ukrainian statement published following Tuesday’s meeting in Jeddah had “come as a surprise” to Moscow, citing an anonymous source in the Kremlin who also suggested Russia would press for “impossible” demands.
Russian state news agency, Tass, reported on Thursday that Kremlin aide Yuri Ushakov had spoken with Trump’s national security adviser, Mike Waltz, and said Russia believed a brief ceasefire agreement would be “nothing more than a temporary respite for the Ukrainian military.”
The country’s state media outlets reported on Thursday that an aircraft carrying Witkoff had touched down in Moscow. Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko, a key Kremlin ally who allowed Russia to launch its invasion of Ukraine partially from Belarusian soil, is also in Moscow to meet Russian President Vladimir Putin.
Russia Says It Has Retaken Last Major Kursk Settlement
Russia’s Defense Ministry said on Wednesday that its troops had retaken the Kursk town of Sudzha from Ukrainian control, as well as a settlement immediately south of Sudzha and another village southwest of the town.
Kyiv launched a surprise incursion into Russia’s western Kursk region in August 2024, quickly gaining swathes of territory close to the border. While Russian and North Korean troops had managed to peel back some of Ukraine’s control, Moscow had struggled to push Ukrainian forces from Sudzha.
The chunk of territory held by Kyiv’s forces, sometimes referred to as the Ukrainian salient in Kursk, provided Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky with a bargaining chip in ceasefire negotiations, particularly on the difficult issue of territory.
Russian troops, supported by North Korean sighters, launched a concerted push to retake Sudzha over the weekend, targeting Ukrainian logistics and supply routes, fueling concerns from Ukrainian sources that Kyiv’s fighters in Kursk could be trapped by Russian advances.
This was dismissed by Ukraine’s top soldier, General Oleksandr Syrskyi, on Monday, although the commander-in-chief did note Ukrainian forces were shifting to more “favorable defensive positions” in the area. Syrskyi said on Wednesday that “despite the increased pressure from the Russian-North Korean army, we will maintain our defense in Kursk as long as it is expedient and necessary.”
Kyiv had acknowledged a Russian offensive near Sudzha on Saturday, sharing footage it said showed thwarted Russian paratroopers traveling along a gas pipeline close to Sudzha and attempting to secure a “foothold” around the town. This could not be independently verified.
One pro-war Russian account reported at the weekend that Russian troops had crawled through miles of pipeline tunnels, often sitting and “waiting for the command to storm for several more days.”
Footage widely circulated on Wednesday appeared to show Russian soldiers holding the country’s tricolor flag in the center of Sudzha.
Putin, kitted out in military garb, made a surprise visit to Kursk on Wednesday, state media reported. The Kremlin leader met with the chief of Russia’s general staff, General Valery Gerasimov, in his first visit to the region since Ukraine’s incursion began in August, according to state news agency Tass.
Andriy Kovalenko, an official with Ukraine’s National Security and Defense Council, said on Wednesday that Sudzha had been “almost completely destroyed” by Russian airstrikes.
Kyiv Strikes Russian Drone Site, Ukrainian Media Reports
Ukraine’s GUR military intelligence agency attacked a hidden drone manufacturing site in Russia’s Kaluga region, southwest of Moscow, overnight into Thursday, Ukrainian media reported.
Kyiv used long-range strike drones to hit the facility in the village of Obukhovo, housing production lines for uncrewed vehicles, several domestic outlets reported, citing sources in the country’s intelligence services.
Vladislav Shapsha, the governor of the Kaluga region, said air defenses had intercepted 25 drones overnight, including over the area close to Obukhovo. Shapsha said falling debris from one of the drones had caused a fire in an industrial building in that area, which was “quickly extinguished.”
One employee received “a minor injury,” the governor said, adding a power line and communications tower close to the border with the Bryansk region were damaged.
Russian and Ukrainian sources also reported drone attacks on Russia’s Saratov, Voronezh and Rostov regions.
Ukraine’s air force said in a separate statement that Russia had attacked Ukraine overnight with a ballistic missile and 117 drones. Ukrainian air defenses shot down 74 of the drones, while 38 veered off course, the air force said.
Fresh Aid For Ukraine
Finland on Thursday announced a fresh package of military aid for Ukraine totaling roughly $217 million, including much-needed artillery ammunition, the country’s defense ministry said.
Helsinki declined to provide further details on the contents of the aid package, which it said needed governmental and presidential sign-off.
Finnish Defense Minister, Antti Häkkänen, met with his Ukrainian counterpart, Rustem Umerov, on Thursday, when the two signed a memorandum of understanding on cultivating defense cooperation, the Finnish ministry said.
“We stand on the same European fringe as Ukraine and share the same view of the Russian threat in light of our historical experiences,” Häkkänen said.
Finland shares roughly 800 miles of border with Russia.
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