Ukraine-Russia warfare newest: Trump threatens to damage Putin with sanctions if he doesn’t settle for 30-day ceasefire

Russia’s lightning advance in Kursk is “extremely bad” and was made possible after supply lines to Ukrainian troops were cut, a military analyst has said.

Speaking to The Independent, Emil Kastehelmi of the Finnish open-source intelligence Black Bird Group said: “It is extremely bad. This can be considered a significant Russian victory, as they were able to relatively quickly drive the Ukrainians out of most of the salient quickly.

“The supply line issues were just too much for the troops.”

Tatarigami_UA, a former Ukrainian officer who runs Frontelligence Insight, a group that tracks the front line and is known to have closes ties to the military, says the Russian attack started days before the US cut intelligence sharing with Ukraine, which has since been resumed.

The officer said Russian forces cut off Ukrainian logistics, “which was supplied basically through just one available way”.

Dressed in green military fatigues, Russian president Vladimir Putin arrived in Kursk late on Wednesday to order the defeat of Ukrainian forces.

It is the first time Putin has visited an active frontline of Russia’s war against Ukraine.

Speaking to generals in televised remarks, he said: “Our task in the near future, in the shortest possible timeframe, is to decisively defeat the enemy entrenched in the Kursk region.

“And of course, we need to think about creating a security zone along the state border.”

Russia’s lightning advance over the past few days has left Ukraine with a pocket of less than 60 square miles in Kursk, down from 1,300 square km (500 square miles) at the peak of the incursion last summer, according to interactive map DeepState.

Ukraine’s emergency services have posted a video on social media showing the aftermath of Russia’s overnight strikes on the northern Ukrainian region of Sumy.

At least five people were killed and 28 more wounded in the last 24 hours of Russia’s attacks on Ukraine, local officials have revealed.

More than half of the casualties were in the Donetsk region, host to the hottest areas of fighting in Ukraine. Three people were killed and 14 injured, governor Vadym Filashkin said.

There were two people killed in the city of Myrnohrad and another in Pokrovsk. The two towns are within just a few miles of the front line. It is unclear if they were killed by drone attacks or artillery.

In southern Ukraine’s Kherson, one person was killed and six injured, governor Oleksandr Prokudin said.

In Sumy Oblast, one civilian was killed in the Seredyna-Buda community when attempting to handle a Russian drone, which subsequently exploded.

As you head into work this morning, we remind you of US president Donald Trump’s latest comments on the war in Ukraine.

Mr Trump said he had received “positive messages” from Russia about a ceasefire but added that such rhetoric means “nothing” until a deal is struck.

He reiterated his threats to “do things financially that would be very bad for Russia”.

The Kremlin said on Wednesday it was awaiting details from Washington about a ceasefire proposal in Ukraine. Kyiv agreed to a 30-day proposal during talks with the US in Saudi Arabia.

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 Moscow 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.”

Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelensky has reiterated his calls for Western security guarantees in his nightly address.

You can see his full statement with English subtitles below.