Senior US officials are set to travel to Russia for discussions on a potential ceasefire in Ukraine, days after Ukrainian authorities agreed to a 30-day truce following high-level negotiations with American representatives in Saudi Arabia.
The development comes as Russian President Vladimir Putin visited the country’s Kursk region, parts of which have been contested since Ukrainian forces launched an incursion last year. The Kremlin released footage showing Putin walking alongside military chief Valery Gerasimov, both dressed in combat gear.
While the White House has yet to disclose the names of officials heading to Moscow, Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt confirmed that National Security Secretary Mike Waltz had spoken to his Russian counterpart regarding the upcoming negotiations.
"We urge the Russians to sign on to this plan. This is the closest we have been to peace in this war," Leavitt told reporters.
The US diplomatic move follows a meeting in Jeddah on Tuesday, where Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky described the ceasefire proposal as a "positive" step and called on Washington to convince Moscow to accept it.
Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said that Russian authorities were reviewing the proposal and would provide further details "via various channels" in the coming days. He did not confirm whether Putin would hold direct talks with former US President Donald Trump, though he acknowledged that a phone call was "possible."
Speaking in the Oval Office alongside Irish Prime Minister Micheál Martin on Wednesday, Trump indicated that he had received "positive messages" about the ceasefire. However, he cautioned that optimism alone would not resolve the crisis.
"This is a very serious situation," Trump said. "We have a complex issue on one side, pretty much solved. We've also discussed land and other things that go with it. We know the areas of land we're talking about, whether it's pull back or not pull back."
Trump also suggested that he could exert financial pressure on Russia if it failed to engage in meaningful negotiations.
"That would be very bad for Russia," he said. "I don’t want to do that because I want to get peace."
Fighting continues amid ceasefire talks
Despite the ongoing negotiations, hostilities have continued on the ground. Russian missiles and drone strikes targeted Ukrainian cities overnight, including Kryvyy Rih—Zelensky’s hometown—along with Odesa, Dnipropetrovsk, and Kharkiv.
Meanwhile, in the Kursk region, Russian forces have reportedly advanced, reclaiming areas that had been under Ukrainian control. Peskov stated that Russian troops were "successfully progressing," following Putin’s visit to the frontline command post.
During the trip, Putin reportedly ordered his military to "fully liberate" the region, though he has yet to comment on the ceasefire agreement reached between Ukraine and the US.
Ukraine’s top military commander, Oleksandr Syrsky, acknowledged that some Ukrainian units were withdrawing from Kursk. Writing on Telegram, he stated: "In the most difficult situation, my priority has been and remains saving the lives of Ukrainian soldiers."
The upcoming talks in Moscow will be the first direct negotiations between US and Russian officials on the Ukraine conflict since the suspension of American military assistance in late February. That decision followed a heated exchange between Trump, Zelensky, and US Vice-President JD Vance.
