Putin is too SCARED to tell Trump he wants to 'continue with war and keep killing Ukrainians', Zelensky says as world waits for Russia to make call on 30-day ceasefire deal
Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelensky has accused Russian despot Vladimir Putin of being 'afraid' of telling US president Donald Trump that he wants to continue his invasion.
Putin this afternoon said that while Russia backed the US proposal for a Ukraine ceasefire, it had 'serious questions' that he needed to discuss with the United States, possibly directly with President Donald Trump.
Putin said he was in 'favour' of the proposal of a 30-day ceasefire 'but that there are nuances' and that he had 'serious questions' about how it would work.
'I think we need to talk to our American colleagues... Maybe have a phone call with President Trump and discuss this with him,' he told reporters.
In response, the wartime Ukrainian leader accused Putin of being 'very manipulative'. and said his words were 'very predicable.'
Zelensky said during his nightly address to the Ukrainian people: 'Putin, of course, is afraid to say directly to President Trump that he wants to continue this war, he wants to kill Ukrainians.
'That's why they in Moscow are framing the idea of silence with such preconditions that nothing will happen at all or that it will not happen for as long as possible.
He said the Russian leader's words were 'just another Russian manipulation.'
Earlier, Putin noted the need to develop a mechanism to control possible breaches of the truce. Another issue, he said, is whether Ukraine could use the 30-day ceasefire to continue mobilization and rearmament.
'We agree with the proposals to halt the fighting, but we proceed from the assumption that the ceasefire should lead to lasting peace and remove the root causes of the crisis,' Putin said.
The Russian president said any ceasefire must lead to 'long-term peace'.
Zelensky fired back at Putin, saying that Ukraine does not 'set conditions that complicate anything' while stating that Russia does.
'As we have always said, the only one who will drag things out, the only one who will be unconstructive, is Russia,' he says.
'They want a war. Putin has stolen years of peace and continues this war - day after day.'
He also accused Putin of not wanting to end the invasion of Ukraine, which began in February 2022.
'That's why in Moscow they are imposing upon the idea of a ceasefire these conditions, so that nothing happens at all, or so that it cannot happen for as long as possible.'
Zelenskyy ended the address by calling for allies to ramp up the pressure on Putin and impose further sanctions.
'This is possible to ensure, with America's possibilities, and Europe's possibilities.'
Zelenskiy said a ceasefire would give time 'to prepare answers to all questions regarding long-term security and a real, reliable peace, and put on the table a plan to end the war.'
Putin's claims of wanting peace stood in opposition to comments made by his aide, Yuri Ushakov, who earlier said the proposed ceasefire deal was 'hasty' and would give breathing space to Ukrainian forces at a time when Moscow is close to fully retaking territory in its Kursk region from Kyiv's forces.
Meanwhile, Russia is advancing across 'practically' entire front line, Putin claims, adding that he will determine the 'next steps' on the ceasefire based on the success of the Kursk campaign.
Putin said that Ukrainian soldiers tried to leave in large groups, but this is now impossible. If a physical blockade occurs in the coming days, then no one will be able to leave at all. There will be only two options: surrender or die,' he added, according to Russian media.
Putin noted that while it appeared that the US persuaded Ukraine to accept a ceasefire, Ukraine is interested in that because of the battlefield situation, noting that Ukrainian troops that launched an incursion into Russia's Kursk region would be fully blocked in the coming days.
'In these conditions, I believe it would be good for the Ukrainian side to secure a ceasefire for at least 30 days,' he said.
Referring to the Ukrainian troops in Kursk, he said: 'Will all those who are there come out without a fight?'
Putin thanked Trump 'for paying so much attention to the settlement in Ukraine.'
He also thanked the leaders of China, India, Brazil and South Africa for their 'noble mission to end the fighting to casualties,' a statement that signaled those countries' potential involvement in a ceasefire deal.
Putin aide Yuri Ushakov said during a live TV interview shortly before the Russian despot's comments: 'I have stated our position that this is nothing other than a temporary respite for the Ukrainian military, nothing more.'
The foreign policy advisor said Moscow sees its goal as being a long-term settlement 'that takes into account the legitimate interests of our country and our known concerns,' rather than a temporary truce.
'It seems to me that no one needs any steps that (merely) imitate peaceful actions in this situation,' he said dismissively.
Asked by TV host Olga Skabeeva - also known as Putin's 'Iron Doll' - if this meant an outright rejection of the Trump ceasefire by Moscow, he replied ominously: 'The President will probably [soon] make more specific and substantive assessments.'
Ushakov, who previously served as Moscow's ambassador to the US, added that he had outlined Russia's position on the ceasefire to US National Security Advisor Mike Waltz.
The Russian Defense Ministry's claim that it recaptured the town of Sudzha, a Ukrainian operational hub in Kursk, came hours after Putin visited his commanders in Kursk. The claim could not be independently verified. Ukrainian officials made no immediate comment.
The renewed Russian military push and Putin's high-profile visit to his troops unfolded as Trump seeks a diplomatic end to the war, which began more than three years ago with Russia's full-scale invasion.
The US on Tuesday lifted its March 3 suspension of military aid for Kyiv after senior US and Ukrainian officials reported making progress on how to stop the fighting during talks in Saudi Arabia.
Trump said Wednesday that 'it's up to Russia now' as his administration presses Moscow to agree to the ceasefire. The US president has made veiled threats to hit Russia with new sanctions if it does not engage with peace efforts.
US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent told CNBC on Thursday that Trump is 'willing to apply maximum pressure on both sides,' including sanctions that reach the highest scale on Russia.
But it appears that this pressure may not be effective, as an advisory document written for the Kremlin has revealed.
Vladimir Putin plans to fight on in Ukraine and weaken Donald Trump's negotiating position in any peace deal by stoking tensions between the US and the rest of the world.
As Washington continues to push for a truce, documents from an influential Kremlin-linked thinktank, obtained by the Washington Post, suggest that Russia has been working to undermine a possible peace deal since at least February.
It appears that some measures in the document, reportedly written by an influential Moscow-based thinktank the week before the US-Russia talks in Saudi Arabia in late February, have already informed the thinking of the Russian state.
The document, written for the FSB's Fifth Service, the security service division that oversees operations in Ukraine, lays out the ways in which Russia could boost its standing by inflaming tensions between the US and both China and the EU.
The US has twice sided with Russia at UN votes, in a stark reversal of Washington's foreign policy which has worried allies.
The first instance was at the General assembly where it opposed a European-drafted resolution condemning Moscow's actions and reaffirming Ukraine's territorial integrity.
The second was at the Security Council where the US drafted and voted for a resolution that called for the end of Russia's invasion without criticising Russia.
The pro-Kremlin thinktank's document argues that against this backdrop, Russia should be working towards 'the complete dismantling' of the current Ukrainian government.
Putin has skirted the issue of a ceasefire ahead of talks with Trump's envoy Steve Witkoff - whose plane was mapped heading to Moscow today - and has instead set his troops the task of grabbing back territory in Kursk.
