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The US President said a peace deal was now ‘up to Russia’, but Moscow sources said the agreement was ‘difficult to accept’
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US President Donald Trump said he could impose a “devastating” financial blow on Vladimir Putin if the Russian president refused to accept the 30-day ceasefire agreement.
Officials from Ukraine and the US yesterday agreed on the ceasefire, alongside a restoration of US military aid and intelligence sharing to Ukraine, during talks in Saudi Arabia.
“I think it makes sense for Russia,” Trump said. “We’ve also discussed land.”
He suggested the US could impose “devastating” financial penalties on Moscow if they did not accept the proposed ceasefire deal.
“There are things you can do that wouldn’t be pleasant in a financial sense. I can do things financially,” he said in the Oval Office.
Kyiv supports the Trump administration’s push for peace as soon as possible, Volodymr Zelensky said, and sees the resumption of US military aid and intelligence sharing as very positive.
It comes after US secretary of state Marco Rubio – who was part of the delegation in Saudi Arabia – told reporters in Ireland that US and Russia will discuss the agreement today.
“Hopefully, we can get a ceasefire from Russia,” Donald Trump told reporters in the Oval Office.
“I’ve gotten some positive messages, but a positive message means nothing. This is a very serious situation.”
The Kremlin said on March 12 it was awaiting details from Washington about a proposal for a ceasefire in Ukraine, while senior Moscow sources said a deal would have to take account of Russia’s advances and address its concerns.
Mr Trump said a ceasefire would make sense for Russia but said there was “a lot of downside for Russia too”, without elaborating.
“We have a very complex situation solved on one side, pretty much solved. We’ve also discussed land and other things that go with it,” he said.
“We know the areas of land we’re talking about, whether it’s pull back or not pull back.”
Asked if he would do anything to pressure Russia, Mr Trump said: “I can do things financially, that would be very bad for Russia. I don’t want to do that because I want to get peace.”
One senior official from Lithuania – one of the Baltic nations which fears Mr Putin’s invasion could be extended to their border – said: “What for us, Ukraine or the US, is 30 days could be just 30 minutes for Russia.”
Arms deliveries to Ukraine have already resumed through a Polish logistics centre, the foreign ministers of Ukraine and Poland announced on Wednesday.
The deliveries go through a Nato and US hub in the eastern Polish city of Rzeszow that has been used to ferry Western weapons into neighbouring Ukraine about 70 kilometres (45 miles) away.
The American military help is vital for Ukraine’s shorthanded and weary army, which is having a tough time keeping Russia’s bigger military force at bay.
For Russia, the American aid spells potentially more difficulty in achieving war aims, and it could make Washington’s peace efforts a tougher sell in Moscow.
The US government has also restored Ukraine’s access to unclassified commercial satellite pictures provided by Maxar Technologies through a program Washington runs, Maxar spokesperson Tomi Maxted told The Associated Press.
The images help Ukraine plan attacks, assess their success and monitor Russian movements.
Even if Putin agrees to a temporary truce, which is a big if, Ukraine and Europe are clear that Russia has a long history of breaking ceasefire agreements.
Finland will definitely be part of any “coalition of the willing” that could help support Ukraine’s security, Foreign Minister Elina Valtonen told Times Radio.
Earlier this month, Prime Minister Keir Starmer said Britain, France and some other nations would form a coalition to draw up plans to offer Ukraine support in the event of a peace deal to end Russia’s war.
“We are definitely part of the coalition of the willing, and we are looking at the package of capabilities which we have to put to the table in order to help Ukraine in securing itself,” she said.
“We will, of course, have to secure the rest of Europe, too… there are many ways to participate and rest assured Finland will participate also.”
It came after Secretary of State for Defence John Healey said: “In the coming weeks, you will see European allies coming ever closer together because our security is shared and our strength relies on that unwavering commitment to each other.
“Peace and security in Europe will only be achieved through strengthening Nato and standing with Ukraine.”
About 286,000 Ukrainian civilians remain in Donetsk Oblast as mandatory evacuation in the region continues.
Dmytro Petlin, head of the department of operational and emergency service for the region, said: “Evacuation measures continue. As of yesterday (11.03.25), about 1,214,000 civilians were evacuated from the government-controlled areas of Donetsk region.
“As of yesterday, about 286,000 civilians remain in the territory of the region controlled by the Ukrainian authorities.”
A source close to the Ukrainian government said the mood in the Zelensky camp after the talks was upbeat and that there was a feeling Russia had been caught off guard by the ceasefire proposal.
“It’s a strong check on the chess board,” the source said.
A former senior Ukrainian security official who requested anonymity said things had so far developed predictably in terms of a phased peace process.
“However, it is likely that Russia will derail the agreement, and we will have to watch the American reaction. The Russians may offend Trump with their outbursts. And then we will have a chance for strong arms assistance.”
President Vladimir Putin has visited the western Russian region of Kursk for the first time since Ukrainian forces seized some territory in the region.
Appearing on Russian state television dressed in a pixilated military uniform, Putin visited a control centre in Kursk region used by Russian troops.
“Indeed, in the shortest possible time is to finally defeat the enemy entrenched in the Kursk region and still conducting defensive actions here,” Putin said, addressing Russia’s top military brass.
Putin heard a report from Valery Gerasimov, head of the Russian General Staff, who told him that Ukrainian troops in the Kursk region were now surrounded.
“Its systematic destruction is underway,” Gerasimov said.
Putin said Russian forces should completely liberate the region from the Ukrainian troops as soon as possible, the news agencies reported.
Putin said Russia should treat Ukrainian soldiers captured as prisoners of war in Kursk Region as terrorists.
“People who are in the Kursk region, who commit crimes against civilians here, who oppose our armed forces, law enforcement agencies and special services, … are the people we should certainly treat as terrorists,” Putin said, adding that Russia does not intend to extend the Geneva Conventions to foreigners fighting on Ukraine’s side.
Ukraine’s top army commander said on Thursday that Kyiv’s troops will continue operation in Russia’s Kursk region “as long as appropriate and necessary” and added that fighting continued in and around town of Sudzha.
“(Ukrainian) defence forces units manoeuvre to more favourable positions, if necessary,” Oleksandr Syrskyi said on Facebook adding that saving soldiers lives is a priority.
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