The National Times - US wants Russia to agree to Ukraine truce 'unconditionally'

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said Kyiv had shown it was ready to embrace the deal to halt the fighting and that the United States had indicated it would issue a "strong" response if the Kremlin refused.

Tens of thousands have been killed in the three-year war that has raged since Russia's February 2022 invasion.

The joint US-Ukrainian proposal marks the latest in a series of rapid developments in the search for a truce.

It comes less than two weeks after US President Donald Trump kicked Zelensky out of the White House and then halted all military aid and intelligence sharing with Kyiv.

The US restarted supplies after Ukraine agreed to the truce proposal at talks in Saudi Arabia on Tuesday.

Secretary of State Marco Rubio said the United States was now seeking Moscow's full agreement to the proposal, without attaching any of its own demands.

"That's what we want to know -- if they're prepared to do it unconditionally," Rubio said.

"If the response is, 'yes', then we know we've made real progress, and there's a real chance of peace. If their response is 'no', it would be highly unfortunate, and it'll make their intentions clear," he added.

- 'No trust' -

In its first comments on the idea, the Kremlin said Wednesday it was waiting for further information.

But the Russian foreign ministry earlier this month said a temporary ceasefire was "unacceptable".

In Kyiv, Zelensky said the United States would pile pressure on Moscow if it did not accept the idea.

"I understand that we can count on strong steps. I don't know the details yet but we are talking about sanctions and strengthening Ukraine," Zelensky told reporters including AFP journalists.

"Everything depends on whether Russia wants a ceasefire and silence, or it wants to continue killing people," the Ukrainian leader added.

But he said there was no faith among Ukrainians when it came to the idea of a truce with Russia.

"I have emphasised this many times, none of us trust the Russians."

The offer comes at a difficult moment on the battlefield for Ukraine. It is losing ground in the east and south of the country, where officials said eight people were killed on Wednesday.

Russia has also reclaimed swathes of territory in its western Kursk region, pushing back Ukrainian troops that have held on there since a shock offensive launched last August.

Even if Russian President Vladimir Putin agrees to a ceasefire, much remains uncertain in negotiations. Ukraine has pressed for security guarantees, but Trump has ruled out NATO membership.

Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said he assumed Rubio and National Security Advisor Michael Waltz would "inform" Moscow "on the negotiations that took place and the understandings reached".

Earlier, Russian news agencies reported that the heads of the CIA and Russia's SVR foreign intelligence agency had held their first phone call in several years.

- 'When Putin dies' -

Some of Ukraine's soldiers are also sceptical over the prospects for a ceasefire.

In the frontline Ukrainian city of Kramatorsk, a 44-year-old serviceman said Russia could only be forced into peace.

"They'll say in public that there's no fighting and no shelling, but this scum has always harassed us and it will continue to," he told AFP.

Roman Dunayevsky, 56, said Russia likely would not stick to its agreements and that there was only one way to ensure peace.

"Peace will come when Putin dies. That's the only way," he told AFP in the Ukrainian capital.

In Washington, Trump said he was ready to welcome Zelensky back to the White House and may speak to Putin this week.

He also said he hoped the truce could be put in place "over the next few days".

Ahead of the talks in Saudi Arabia with US officials, Ukraine unleashed its largest ever drone attack on Russia, killing three people near Moscow.

Russia has also stepped up its aerial attacks on Ukraine and launched a counter-offensive in Kursk, claiming to have retaken around 20 settlements over the last few days.

Zelensky said Russia was "clearly trying to put maximum pressure on our troops -- and our military command is doing what it has to do."

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C.Stevenson--TNT