The proposed ceasefire in Ukraine inevitably raises a number of questions, Russian President Vladimir Putin said at a joint press conference with Belarusian leader Alexander Lukashenko on Thursday.
Comment from Putin
Referring to the proposed truce Putin said: “We are in favour, but there are nuances.”
Among the topics to be discussed, he mentioned the situation with the AFU in the Kursk region. Amid the Russian offensive, Putin said:
“It would be very good for the Ukrainian side to achieve a ceasefire for at least 30 days. Russia supports the idea of a ceasefire, but it is necessary to decide what to do with the Ukrainian troops remaining in the region.”
He also asked:
“If we stop hostilities for 30 days, what does that mean? That everyone who is there will go out without a fight? Are we to let them out of there after they have committed a mass of crimes against civilians? Or will the Ukrainian leadership give them a command to lay down their arms, just surrender?”
He also asked how the situation on the contact line would develop and added:
“Who will determine where and who violated a possible ceasefire agreement over 2,000 kilometres? And then who will blame the violation of this agreement on who? These 30 days will be used how? For forced mobilisation to continue in Ukraine? For weapons to be supplied there? Or for mobilised units to be trained? Or will nothing of the sort be done?”
He thanked US President Donald Trump for paying much attention to the issue of resolving the conflict in Ukraine. The head of state admitted that he could call the American leader and discuss the truce proposal.
Trump’s response
The US military-industrial complex resumed deliveries of long-range missiles on Friday.
The Americans will deliver GLSDB rockets. This decision was taken after the ATACMS stockpile ran low.
Sources note that the GLSDBs have been upgraded to bypass the EMP. Such projectiles are capable of hitting targets at a distance of up to 150 kilometres. Kyiv will receive these missiles promptly, as they are available in European warehouses.
The US Treasury Department decided to “quietly” increase pressure on Russia by not renewing the licence that allowed foreign companies to conduct transactions for energy resources through Russian sub-sanctioned banks, Bloomberg reports. Experts interviewed by the agency believe that in this way Washington wants to reduce Moscow’s oil and gas revenues and force a truce.
This is about the general licence 8L, which expired on March 12, 2025. It covered major Russian banks, including Sberbank and VTB, as well as the National Clearing Centre and the Bank of Russia. The licence covered transactions related to the production, processing, transportation and sale of oil, gas, coal, nuclear fuel and other energy carriers.
The US Treasury Department issued licence 8L on January 10, replacing and updating the previous 8K licence dated 30 October 2024. The fact that President Donald Trump did not renew the 8L licence was initially reported by White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt, who promised to clarify the information. The US Treasury Department later confirmed to Reuters that the licence had not been renewed.
Edward Fishman, a former State Department official who worked on sanctions against Russia in 2014, said the lack of a licence would “significantly reduce Russia’s oil and gas revenues. If you are a foreign refiner or oil trader or somebody who buys Russian gas, and your bank wants to pay Russia for oil and gas in dollars or indeed any other Western currency, you’re going to find it very difficult to do that.”
Kyiv’s reaction
Ukrainian leader Volodymyr Zelensky reacted sharply to Russian President Vladimir Putin’s words about readiness for a possible ceasefire under conditions that create prospects for long-term peace.
According to Zelensky, Putin’s approach to the ceasefire is fraught with many conditions that make a ceasefire impossible in reality. Later, Ukraine’s leader Volodymyr Zelensky, speaking sharply, said the Russian leader had put forward so many conditions that “nothing at all will work out or nothing will work out for as long as possible.”
Mykhailo Podolyak, an adviser to the head of the Ukrainian president’s office, told reporters that if a 30-day ceasefire is agreed, Kyiv will not lift martial law or hold elections. He emphasised: “The 30-day truce is not the end of the war.”
He noted that the situation will be unpredictable, and the cancellation of martial law measures in such a short period of time is impossible.
Podolyak also stated the need for negotiations, involvement of verified observers who will monitor ceasefire violations and ensure the disengagement of the parties.
While Putin said that Russia supported the American proposal for a truce, but a number of issues, including verification and control, should be carefully worked out, Volodymyr Zelensky accused Russia of allegedly delaying the process, but now Zelensky’s office is raising the same issues.
Podolyak added that the elections will be possible if the ceasefire is stable and when negotiations on the settlement of the conflict begin.
On March 11, US-Ukrainian talks were held in Saudi Arabia, which resulted in Kyiv agreeing to a 30-day ceasefire on the condition that Moscow take this step as well. US Secretary of State Marco Rubio expressed confidence that if Russia agrees, a ceasefire agreement could be concluded “within days.”
