Russia sticks to red lines on 30-day Ukraine ceasefire plan – as Zelenskyy attacks ‘manipulative’ Putin

Published

8 months ago

March 14, 2025

admin

Vladimir Putin has said Russia agrees to an end to fighting in Ukraine, but “lots of questions” remain over proposals for a 30-day ceasefire.

Casting doubt over whether a deal can be agreed, the Russian president said a ceasefire must lead to “long-term peace” which “would remove the initial reasons for the crisis”.

Russia has previously said it would not accept Ukraine joining NATO and European peacekeepers in Ukraine.

Moscow has reportedly also presented a “list of demands” to the US to end the war, which would include international recognition of Russia’s claim to Crimea and four Ukrainian provinces.

Ukraine’s president Volodymyr Zelenskyy said Mr Putin’s remarks were “very predictable” and “very manipulative”, adding that the Russian president was preparing to reject the ceasefire proposal he agreed with the US.

Mr Putin’s comments came as Donald Trump’s envoy Steve Witkoff arrived in Moscow ahead of talks over Ukraine with the Russian president.

Ukraine war latest updates

Speaking on Thursday afternoon, Mr Putin described the situation in Russia’s Kursk region, where Ukrainian troops have pushed into Moscow’s territory, as “completely under our control”.

It appeared the US had persuaded Ukraine to accept the ceasefire, he said, but Ukraine is also interested because of the battlefield situation, with its forces in Kursk fully blocked in the coming days.

“In these conditions, I believe it would be good for the Ukrainian side to secure a ceasefire for at least 30 days,” he said.

He also said there would need to be a mechanism to control possible breaches of the truce.

Another issue he raised was whether Ukraine could use the 30-day ceasefire to continue to mobilise and rearm.

He said he would need to speak to Mr Trump over the terms of any ceasefire.

Moscow’s maximalist position hasn’t changed

Vladimir Putin was never going to flat out reject the US proposal for a ceasefire, but he also wasn’t going to fully endorse it either. Russia’s agreement, as expected, comes with several strings attached.

The Kremlin leader didn’t specify Moscow’s demands but he did allude to them by saying that any peace deal had to eliminate the “root causes” of the conflict.

It’s become a frequent refrain of his, and shows that Moscow’s maximalist position hasn’t changed.

By “root causes”, the Russian president is referring to NATO’s eastward expansion, which he blames as the catalyst for the war in Ukraine.

It’s a very clear indication his agreement to a ceasefire relies on getting some kind of security guarantees of his own, for example a promise Ukraine will never join NATO, or that there’ll never be any European peacekeeping forces from NATO members based in the country in the future.

He also articulated why Moscow is reluctant to agree to an immediate truce, talking at length about his forces’ advances in Kursk region. Ukraine’s incursion there has been humiliating for the Kremlin, but their expulsion is finally within reach.

Mr Putin doesn’t want that opportunity to slip away. By pausing Russia’s offensive, he fears they’ll lose the advantage and give the enemy time to regroup.

Mr Putin was, however, careful to thank Donald Trump for his efforts in trying to reach a peace agreement, perhaps wary of any backlash from the White House. But despite that, he still doesn’t appear to be showing any sign of compromise.

Mr Putin was speaking alongside Belarus’s President Alexander Lukashenko and the pair said in a joint statement that NATO’s actions regarding the war in Ukraine were fraught with the risk of nuclear conflict.

The two countries also criticised the European Union’s policy towards Russia, labelling it aggressive and confrontational.

Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in early 2022 has left thousands of people dead and injured, millions displaced and towns and cities reduced to rubble.

Moscow’s forces have been advancing since the middle of last year and now control nearly a fifth of Ukraine’s territory.

In his speech Mr Putin said Russian forces were pushing forwards along the entire frontline.

Responding to the comments, Mr Zelenskyy said: “Putin, of course, is afraid to say directly to President Trump that he wants to continue this war, he wants to kill Ukrainians.”

He said Mr Putin’s words were “just another Russian manipulation”.

Mr Trump also responded to the remarks, saying Mr Putin’s statement was not complete and reiterated his willingness to talk to the Russian president, adding: “Hopefully Russia will do the right thing.”

In a news conference with NATO secretary general Mark Rutte, the US president shifted his tone on the alliance, saying it was “stepping up” and praising Mr Rutte for doing “some really good work”.

Mr Rutte said NATO members needed to produce more weapons, stating the alliance was not doing enough and was lagging behind Russia and China.

It comes after Mr Putin donned a camouflage uniform to visit a command post in the Kursk region on Wednesday.

World

COP30: Countries reach draft deal to help speed up climate action

Published

9 hours ago

November 22, 2025

admin

COP30: Countries reach draft deal to help speed up climate action

Countries attending COP30, the biggest climate meeting of the year, have agreed steps to help speed up climate action, according to a draft deal.

The meeting of leaders in the Brazilian city of Belem also saw them agree to reviewing related trade barriers and triple the money given to developing countries to help them withstand extreme weather events, according to the draft.

However, the summit’s president Correa do Lago said “roadmaps” on fossil fuels and forests would be published as there was no consensus on these issues.

The annual United Nations conference brings together world leaders, scientists, campaigners, and negotiators from across the globe, who agree on collective next steps for tackling climate change.

The two-week conference in the Amazon city of Belem was due to end at 6pm local time (9pm UK time) on Friday, but it dragged into overtime.

The standoff was between the EU, which pressed for language on transitioning away from fossil fuels, and the Arab Group of nations, including major oil exporter Saudi Arabia, which opposed it.

The impasse was resolved following all-night negotiations led by Brazil, negotiators said.

The European Union’s climate commissioner, Wopke Hoekstra, said on Saturday that the proposed accord was acceptable, even though the bloc would have liked more.

“We should support it because at least it is going in the right direction,” he said.

The Brazilian presidency scheduled a closing plenary session.

Brazil’s President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva and about 80 countries, including the UK and coal-rich Colombia, had been pushing for a plan on how to “transition away from fossil fuels”.

This is a pledge all countries agreed to two years ago at COP28 – then did very little about since.

But scores of countries – including major oil and gas producers like Saudi Arabia and Russia – see this push as too prescriptive or a threat to their economies.

This breaking news story is being updated and more details will be published shortly.

Please refresh the page for the fullest version.

You can receive breaking news alerts on a smartphone or tablet via the Sky News app. You can also follow us on WhatsApp and subscribe to our YouTube channel to keep up with the latest news.

World

Israel launches strikes on Gaza in further test of fragile ceasefire

Published

9 hours ago

November 22, 2025

admin

Israel launches strikes on Gaza in further test of fragile ceasefire

Israel says it has begun striking Hamas targets in Gaza, reportedly killing at least nine people, after what it called a “blatant violation of the ceasefire agreement”.

Local health authorities in Gaza said there had been three separate airstrikes, one hit a car in the densely populated Rimal neighbourhood, killing five people and wounding several others.

Shortly after the attack on the car, the Israeli air force hit two more targets in the central Gaza Strip, medics said.

They said at least four people died when two houses were struck in Deir Al-Balah city and Nuseirat camp.

The Israeli military said there had been a “blatant violation of the ceasefire agreement”.

It claimed a gunman had crossed into Israeli-held territory after exploiting “the humanitarian road in the area through which humanitarian aid enters southern Gaza”.

A Hamas official rejected the Israeli military’s allegations as baseless, calling them an “excuse to kill”, adding the Palestinian group was committed to the ceasefire agreement.

The Israeli airstrikes are a further test of a fragile ceasefire with Hamas, which has held since 10 October following the two-year Gaza war.

Israel pulled back its troops, and the flow of aid into the territory has increased. But violence has not completely halted.

Palestinian health authorities say Israeli forces have killed 316 people in strikes on Gaza since the truce.

Meanwhile, Israel says three of its soldiers have been killed since the ceasefire began and it has attacked scores of militants.

This breaking news story is being updated and more details will be published shortly.

Please refresh the page for the latest version.

You can receive breaking news alerts on a smartphone or tablet via the Sky News app. You can also follow us on WhatsApp and subscribe to our YouTube channel to keep up with the latest news.

World

Europe scrambles for counter-proposal to US-Russian plan for Ukraine

Published

11 hours ago

November 22, 2025

admin

Europe scrambles for counter-proposal to US-Russian plan for Ukraine

The fast-moving developments on Trump’s Ukraine peace deal are dominating the G20 summit in South Africa, as European leaders scramble to put together a counter-proposal to the US-Russia 28-point plan and reinsert Ukraine into these discussions.

European countries are now working up proposals to put to President Trump ahead of his deadline of Thursday to agree a deal.

Ukraine is in a tight spot. It cannot reject Washington outright – it relies on US military support to continue this war – but neither can it accept the terms of a deal that is acutely favourable to Russia, requiring Ukraine to give up territory not even occupied by Moscow and reducing its army.

Overnight, the UK government has reiterated its position that any deal must deliver a “just and lasting peace”.

Ukraine war latest: Kyiv to discuss ending war in talks in Switzerland

The prime minister, who spoke with E3 allies President Macron of France, Chancellor Merz of Germany and President Zelenskyy of Ukraine on the phone on Friday, is having more conversations today with key partners as they work out how to handle Trump and improve this deal for Ukraine.

One diplomatic source told me allies are being very careful not to criticise Trump or his approach for fear of exacerbating an already delicate situation.

Instead, the prime minister is directing his attacks at Russia.

“There is only one country around the G20 table that is not calling for a ceasefire in Ukraine and one country that is deploying a barrage of drones and missiles to destroy livelihoods and murder innocent civilians,” he said on Friday evening.

“Time and again, Russia pretends to be serious about peace, but its actions never live up to its words.”

On the Trump plan, the prime minister said allies are meetin on Saturday “to discuss the current proposal on the table, and in support of Trump’s push for peace, look at how we can strengthen this plan for the next phase of negotiations”.

Strengthening the plan really means that they want to rebalance it towards Ukraine’s position and make it tougher on Russia.

“Ukraine has been ready to negotiate for months, while Russia has stalled and continued its murderous rampage. That is why we must all work together with both the US and Ukraine, to secure a just and lasting peace once and for all,” said the prime minister.

“We will continue to coordinate closely with Washington and Kyiv to achieve that. However, we cannot simply wait for peace.

“We must strain every sinew to secure it. We must cut off Putin’s finance flows by ending our reliance on Russian gas. It won’t be easy, but it’s the right thing to do.”

Europeans hadn’t even seen this deal earlier in the week, in a sign that the US is cutting other allies out of negotiations – for now at least.

Starmer and other European leaders want to get to a position where Ukraine and Europe are at least at the table.

There is some discussion about whether European leaders such as Macron and Meloni might travel to Washington to speak to Trump early next week in order to persuade him of the European and Ukrainian perspective, as leaders did last August following the US-Russian summit in Alaska.

But Sky News understands there are no discussions about the PM travelling to Washington next week ahead of the budget.