Russia Ukraine cease-fire deal: Putin says he agrees with US proposal

Russian President Vladimir Putin agreed in principle on Thursday with a U.S. proposal for a ceasefire in its war against Ukraine.

President Donald Trump said there have been "good signals" coming out of Russia and offered guarded optimism about Putin’s statement. He reiterated that he's ready to speak with Putin and underscored that it was time to end the war.

Putin "put out a very promising statement, but it wasn’t complete," Trump said Thursday at a start of a meeting at the White House with NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte. "Now we’re going to see whether or not Russia’s there. And if they’re not, it’ll be a very disappointing moment for the world."

Putin agrees to US ceasefire proposal; terms need to be worked out

What they're saying:

Putin said Thursday that Russia agreed in principle with the U.S. ceasefire proposal, but the terms need to be worked out. He emphasized that it should pave the way to lasting peace.

"So the idea itself is correct, and we certainly support it," Putin told a news conference in Moscow. "But there are issues that we need to discuss, and I think that we need to discuss it with our American colleagues and partners."

He noted the need to develop a mechanism to control possible breaches of the truce. Another issue, he said, is whether Ukraine could use the 30-day ceasefire to rearm.

"We agree with the proposals to halt the fighting, but we proceed from the assumption that the ceasefire should lead to lasting peace and remove the root causes of the crisis," Putin said.

Putin noted that Ukrainian troops are encircled in their last foothold in Russia’s Kursk region, and it’s necessary to determine before a ceasefire whether they will lay down weapons and surrender.

He also noted that it’s necessary to develop a mechanism to control possible breaches of the truce. Another issue, he said, is whether Ukraine could use the 30-day ceasefire to continue mobilization and rearmament.

The other side:

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said Putin is "essentially preparing to reject" the ceasefire.

Putin "is afraid to tell President Trump directly that he wants to continue this war, that he wants to kill Ukrainians," Zelenskyy said Thursday in his nightly address to the nation. "That is why, in Moscow, they are surrounding the idea of a ceasefire with such preconditions that nothing will come of it — or at least, it will be delayed as long as possible."

The Russian president, he added, "often acts this way. He doesn’t say ‘no’ outright but ensures that everything drags on and that normal solutions become impossible."

Putin thanks Trump for paying ‘much attention to the settlement in Ukraine’

Dig deeper:

The diplomatic effort coincided with a Russian claim that its troops have driven the Ukrainian army out of a key town in Russia’s Kursk border region, where Moscow has been trying for seven months to dislodge Ukrainian troops from their foothold.

Putin said it appeared that the U.S. persuaded Ukraine to accept a ceasefire and that Ukraine is interested because of the battlefield situation, particularly in Kursk.

Referring to the Ukrainian troops in Kursk, he said: "Will all those who are there come out without a fight?"

Putin thanked U.S. President Donald Trump "for paying so much attention to the settlement in Ukraine."

He also thanked the leaders of China, India, Brazil and South Africa for their "noble mission to end the fighting," a statement that signaled those countries' potential involvement in a ceasefire deal.

Russia has said it will not accept peacekeepers from any NATO members to monitor a prospective truce.

The Russia Ukraine war

The backstory:

The U.S. on Tuesday lifted its March 3 suspension of military aid for Kyiv after senior U.S. and Ukrainian officials reported making progress on how to stop the fighting during talks in Saudi Arabia.

Trump said Wednesday that "it’s up to Russia now" as his administration presses Moscow to agree to the ceasefire. The U.S. president has made veiled threats to hit Russia with new sanctions if it does not engage with peace efforts.

U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent told CNBC Thursday that Trump is "willing to apply maximum pressure on both sides," including sanctions that reach the highest scale on Russia.

Putin sent troops into Ukraine on Feb. 24, 2022, amid Kyiv’s bid to join NATO that he cast as a major threat to Russia. He asked for NATO’s guarantee that it would never offer membership to Ukraine. 

Putin expected a quick victory, but was met by steadfast Ukrainian resistance and a flow of Western weapons.

As of negotiations, Russia controls about a fifth of the Ukrainian territory. 

Russia Ukraine ceasefire

What we know:

Putin has demanded that Ukraine withdraw its troops from the four regions that Russia has seized but never fully controlled, renounce its bid to join NATO and protect the rights of Russian speakers.

Zelenskyy has previously rejected these demands.

What we don't know:

It’s also not clear how involved Zelenskyy and other allies may have been in drafting the proposal. In pushing for a resolution, President Donald Trump has been noncommittal about how involved Ukraine would be in the peace talks, leading world policy experts to believe a deal could be negotiated behind Kyiv’s back. 

What they're saying:

In February, U.S. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth told a meeting of Ukraine’s Western allies that Kyiv shouldn’t hope to get all its territory back from Russia and will not be allowed to join NATO.

US support of Ukraine

The backstory:

While campaigning, Trump frequently said he could quickly end the war.

Over the last three years, under the Biden administration, the U.S. led efforts to isolate Russian leader Vladimir Putin - efforts that were swiftly undone in February when now-President Trump had a phone call with Putin.