The chess game has begun….
The Russian Prersident IS working on taking the Ukraine’s bargining chip of Kursk back….
This while Ukraine forces retake some territory lost in the Donbas/Donestsk region….
Wash. Post….
The Russian leader was due to meet Trump’s envoy Steve Witkoff on Thursday evening to discuss the ceasefire proposal, which earlier one of Putin’s top aides had dismissed as unworkable. Putin’s comments allow Russia to engage in protracted negotiations without immediately rejecting a truce.
Putin, who thanked Trump for his efforts to resolve the conflict, said Russia would agree to a ceasefire, but only if it led to long-term peace, hinting that Russia wanted to place conditions on a ceasefire, such as barring Ukraine from receiving arms from the United States or mobilizing new forces. He also questioned how a ceasefire would be verified, indicating that complex negotiations would be required before he could endorse it….
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Putin’s references to the complexity of reaching a ceasefire and the need for “painstaking research” would effectively delay the proposed immediate short-term ceasefire, allowing Russia to continue fighting as negotiations drag on. The remarks reflect his confidence in Russia’s position in the war, and his belief that Western military support to Kyiv will most probably dwindle under the Trump administration, which recently halted military aid and intelligence sharing temporarily…
The Guardian….
The US president said he was “ready to talk” to Putin. “We will see if Russiaagrees, and if not, it will be a very disappointing moment,” he said. “I would like to see a ceasefire from Russia. We hope that Russia will do the right thing.”
Putin claimed Ukraine was seeking a ceasefire because of the battlefield situation, asserting that Russian forces were “advancing almost everywhere” and nearing full control of the Kursk region, where Kyiv launched a surprise incursion last year.
“How will these 30 days of [ceasefire] be used? To continue forced mobilisation in Ukraine? To supply weapons to Ukraine? … These are legitimate questions,” he said.
Ukraine has previously indicated it would continue its mobilisation efforts during any ceasefire.
“We need to discuss this with our American partners – perhaps a call with Donald Trump,” Putin added, thanking the US president for his involvement in the peace negotiations.
By avoiding an outright rejection of Trump’s proposal, Putin appears to be balancing between not openly rebuffing Trump’s push for peace while also imposing his own stringent demands – potentially prolonging negotiations.
Ukraine’s president, Volodymyr Zelenskyy, dismissed Putin’s ambivalent response to the proposal as “manipulative”….
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The Russian president had travelled to the Kursk region on Wednesday in a rare battlefield visit, where he spoke with Russian troops who were on the verge of expelling Ukrainian forces from the land it captured last year.
“What will happen in the Kursk region? Will an order be given for the troops stationed there to surrender?” Putin asked. “How the situation along the frontline will be resolved remains unclear.”
Ukraine has not officially confirmed an organised retreat from the Kursk region but Zelenskyy said on Wednesday that “the military command is doing what it should do – saving the maximum number of lives of our soldiers”….
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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. The Kremlin spokesperson, Dmitry Peskov, declined to comment on the 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….
Daily Kos grunt report for Today….
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