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From the New York Post: Special presidential envoy Steve Witkoff left Moscow on Friday without a cease-fire deal in hand after Russian President Vladimir Putin rejected President Trump’s terms to begin winding down the war with Ukraine.
Putin met with Witkoff late Thursday after having kept the American waiting since roughly 12:30 p.m., according to flight tracking data and Russian reports, but ultimately sent him home with “signals” for Trump, Kremlin spokesman Dmitri Peskov told reporters.
“A lot still needs to be done,” Peskov said of the cease-fire agreement, noting that Witkoff “presented additional information to the Russian side.”
The details of Trump’s proposal for peace were as follows: Russia and Ukraine would halt all conflict for 30 days and conduct a prisoner exchange as signs of both parties’ commitments to finding a peaceful resolution. The US would also restart sharing intelligence with and delivering aid to Kyiv.
However, in remarks to the press, Putin demanded additional stiff conditions: a halt to the aid and intelligence-sharing, as well as forcing Ukraine not to train, reinforce or resupply its forces during the cease-fire.
In a Truth Social post Friday morning, President Trump optimistically wrote, “We had very good and productive discussions with President Vladimir Putin of Russia yesterday, and there is a very good chance that this horrible, bloody war can finally come to an end — BUT, AT THIS VERY MOMENT, THOUSANDS OF UKRAINIAN TROOPS ARE COMPLETELY SURROUNDED BY THE RUSSIAN MILITARY, AND IN A VERY BAD AND VULNERABLE POSITION. I have strongly requested to President Putin that their lives be spared. This would be a horrible massacre, one not seen since World War II. God bless them all!!!”
Meanwhile, Zelenskyy blasted out the following statement on Thursday:
Right now, we have all heard from Russia Putin’s highly predictable and manipulative words in response to the idea of a ceasefire on the front lines—at this moment he is, in fact, preparing to reject it.
Of course, Putin is afraid to tell President Trump directly that he wants to continue this war and keep killing Ukrainians. That’s why, in Moscow, they are surrounding the ceasefire idea with such preconditions that it either fails or gets dragged out for as long as possible. Putin does this often—he doesn’t say ‘no’ outright, but he drags things out and makes reasonable solutions impossible. We see this as yet another round of Russian manipulation.
There was a U.S. proposal for an unconditional ceasefire—in the air, at sea, and on the front lines. We in Ukraine accepted this proposal. We have heard from the American side that there is readiness to organize monitoring and verification. And this is absolutely feasible—with American and European capabilities.
And during the ceasefire, to prepare answers to all questions about long-term security and a real, lasting peace, and to put a plan to end the war on the table. Ukraine is ready to work as quickly and constructively as possible. We have discussed this with U.S. representatives, and our European partners, as well as all our allies worldwide, are aware of it.
We are not setting conditions that complicate the process—Russia is. As we have always said, the only one stalling, the only one being unconstructive, is Russia. They need this war. Putin has stolen years of peace and continues this war day after day.
Now is the time to increase pressure on him. Sanctions must be applied—ones that will work. We will continue working with our American and European partners and with everyone in the world who wants peace—to force Russia to end this war.
Right now, we have all heard from Russia Putin’s highly predictable and manipulative words in response to the idea of a ceasefire on the front lines—at this moment he is, in fact, preparing to reject it.
Of course, Putin is afraid to tell President Trump directly that he wants… pic.twitter.com/SWbYwMGA46
— Volodymyr Zelenskyy / Володимир Зеленський (@ZelenskyyUa) March 13, 2025
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