Russia says it has taken back Kursk’s largest town from Ukraine as the United States is awaiting a response to the ceasefire
Officials claimed Thursday that Russian forces had driven Ukrainian troops out of the largest town in Russia’s Kursk border area as U.S. officials sought the Kremlin’s response to a proposed 30-day ceasefire in the three-year war recognized by Ukraine.
The Russian Ministry of Defense claims that President Vladimir Putin took back the town of Sudzha after he visited his commander in Kursk and wore military fatigue, which could not be verified independently. Ukrainian officials did not immediately comment on the claim.
When U.S. President Donald Trump urged the war’s diplomacy to end, Russian military re-challenges and Putin made a high-profile visit to his troops. The United States canceled its March 3 military aid for Kiev on March 3 after senior U.S. officials and Ukrainian officials stopped fighting in talks on how to hold in Saudi Arabia.
Trump said on Wednesday that it is “it’s up to Russia now” as his administration urges Moscow to agree to a ceasefire. If the U.S. president does not participate in peace efforts, the U.S. president faces a cover-up threat to attack Russia with new sanctions.
When asked about possible sanctions, Trump told White House reporters when asked about possible sanctions Wednesday: “We can, but I hope it’s not necessary. Of course, we can put pressure on Russia.
The Kremlin does not want to comment publicly
Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said Thursday that U.S. negotiators are heading to Russia but he will not comment on Moscow’s view on the ceasefire proposal.
“They haven’t started before the negotiations started, and it’s wrong to talk about it in public,” he told reporters.
Senior U.S. officials said they hope to see Russia stop attacks on Ukraine in the next few days.
White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt told Fox News that National Security Advisor Mike Waltz spoke with his Russian counterpart on Wednesday. She also confirmed that Trump’s envoy Steve Witkoff will travel to Moscow to hold talks with Russian officials, possibly Putin.
Ukraine demonstrated its openness by opening up to a ceasefire, showing the Kremlin a dilemma when the Russian military gained the upper hand in the war – whether to accept a truce and give up hope for new gains, rejecting a cautious offer and danger with Washington.
The Ukrainian army’s foothold within Russia has been under tremendous pressure with the renewed efforts of the Russian troops and the support of the North Korean troops. Ukraine’s bold invasion last August caused foreign troops to occupy Russian soil for the first time since World War II and embarrass the Kremlin.
Putin told commanders on Wednesday that he hopes the military “totally lift the Kursk region out of the enemy in the near future”.
Putin added that in the future, “it is necessary to consider creating a safe zone alongside the state borders”, a signal that Moscow could try to expand its territorial gains by capturing parts of Ukraine’s neighboring Sumi region. This idea could complicate the ceasefire agreement.
Ukraine launched a raid to oppose the constant news on the frontline and to draw Russian troops away from the internal battlefield of Ukraine and gain bargaining chips in any peace negotiations. But the invasion did not significantly change the driving force for war.
The Washington-based think tank War Institute assessed Russian forces control Suz late Wednesday.
Ukraine’s senior military chief General Oleksandr Syrskyi said late Wednesday that Sudzha was almost completely destroyed by the Air Russia strike against Kursk. Instead of commenting on whether Ukraine still controls the solution, he said it was a “more favorable route to go (the army).
Meanwhile, Major. He told Ukrainian media Sustilne on Wednesday that Dmytro Krasylnykov, commander of Ukrainian operations command, was fired. He told the media that he had no reason to be fired, saying, “I guess I’m guessing, but I don’t want to talk about it.”
