Ukraine battle newest: Zelensky says ‘manipulative’ Putin needs to reject ceasefire however is afraid to inform Trump

Russia has reportedly presented the US with a list of demands for a deal to end its invasion of Ukraine and reset relations with Washington.

It is unclear what was included in that letter but former senior British officials with a focus on Russia have suggested to The Independent that Moscow will try to extract maximal demands from Washington in exchange for a ceasefire.

They say it is likely to include calling for Ukraine to disarm and for it to be barred from joining Nato or the European Union, tantamount to making Ukraine a “non-country”.

More details here.

European Union foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas said she thinks Russia will likely say yes to a ceasefire but with conditions.

Ms Kallas said the US has told members it understands that Russia may be playing a game to extend the process by blurring the picture, she told Reuters.

Any delay would give Russia more time for its troops to push the last Ukrainian forces out of Russia’s western Kursk region. Moscow also demands that Kyiv permanently cede territory claimed by Russia, a position that Ukraine rejects.

Ukraine and its allies describe Russia’s 2022 invasion as an imperial-style land grab, and president Volodymyr Zelensky has repeatedly vowed to defeat Russian forces.

Russian forces control nearly a fifth of Ukraine’s territory and have been edging forward since mid-2024.

Putin has now discussed the situation in Kursk, where a rapid Russian offensive has recaptured large pockets of land.

“The situation is fully under our control and the group that invaded our territory has been isolated, fully isolated,” he said.

“Ukraine’s control over the Ukrainian forces has been lost.

“If there is a physical blockade, in the next two days, nobody will be able to leave. There will be only two ways: surrender or die.”

The General Staff of the Armed Forces of Ukraine have said there were 128 clashes on the frontline with one-third in the Pokrovsk sector.

An update on Facebook read: “According to preliminary calculations, today the occupiers in the Pokrovsky direction lost 344 people killed and wounded.

“Our soldiers destroyed three mortars, two cannons, eight vehicles units, 11 motorcycles, a self-propelled artillery rig, eight satellite terminals, four control points and two trenches.”

Tom Watling reports:

The Foreign Secretary, who is meeting G7 counterparts in Canada, said there is an “opportunity” for “a just and lasting peace” in Ukraine.

“The US and Ukraine have called for a full, immediate and unconditional 30-day ceasefire,” he told The Mirror.

“This would be a first step so that talks can start on a full settlement that protects Ukraine’s security and sovereignty. President Zelensky has shown that Ukraine is the party of peace.

“It would be wrong for Putin to lay conditions. Our support for Ukraine, and that of other partners, remains ironclad.”

Top army chief General Oleksandr Syrskyi said on Wednesday he had ordered soldiers to withdraw to more advantageous positions in Kursk, saying preserving the lives of soldiers was his priority.

But some soldiers said it should have happened sooner.

One Ukrainian soldier said he and his comrades defied their company commander’s orders, and made their own decision to retreat.

“We’re sick and tired of sitting under fire all the time,” said the soldier. Because all the main roads are being monitored by Russian drones, he said soldiers are withdrawing in small groups along tree lines to avoid detection.

“All the units that are left there, I don’t know how they (the command) are going to get them out, because all supply chains have been disrupted,” he said, referring to Sudzha and surrounding areas.

“The guys who came out said there were a lot of our dead bodies and a lot of burnt equipment.”

A Russian drone attack has left seven people injured including four children in Kharviv.

Kharkiv Mayor Ihor Terekhov said on Telegram: “Currently, there are seven casualties — four children, two women, and one man.”

Oleh Syniehubov, head of the Kharkiv regional military administration, said four strikes have been recorded in the city.

The Ukrainian army stunned Russia in August by attacking across the border and taking control of an estimated 500 square miles of land. It was a much-needed morale boost for Ukraine — but more importantly, the country’s leaders believed the capture of Russian territory might help in any future peace negotiations with its enemy.

Now, after months of intense pressure from Russian forces supported by troops from North Korea, Ukraine only holds about 30% of the Russian land it had seized and its forces are in retreat after a rapid near-defeat in the city of Sudzha.

The invasion of Kursk was intended to redirect Russian forces from inside Ukraine — and the land gained was supposed to help Ukraine get back at least some of the 20% of its country taken by Russia since its full-scale invasion in February 2022.

But many soldiers and commanders have long questioned whether it was worth diluting their forces available to defend Ukraine — and those doubts only grew as the retreat from Kursk accelerated.

Sir Keir Starmer has said that he was not surprised by Putin’s “barely disguised” ambitions to delay any ceasefire.

Speaking to the News Agents podcast, Starmer said: “Well, firstly, keep our focus on a lasting and secure peace in Ukraine, which is what we all want.

“It doesn’t entirely surprise me that Russia is taking this stance. They’ve made it pretty clear. They put it in lights a number of times over.

“I think progress was made on Tuesday, and I always felt that and hoped that out of Tuesday that would put the ball in the Russian court, if you like, where the pressure would come on Russia. That has now happened.

“That is a good thing, because Russia is the aggressor. Russia is the country that where there had been previous deals and agreements, [it] has not honoured those.

“We know that Putin has ambitions that are barely disguised.”