Ukraine-Russia war latest: Kyiv troops withdraw from Kursk town as Moscow closes in on recapturing region

President Trump, who stated he was prepared to speak to the Russian chief by cellphone, referred to as Mr Putin’s assertion “very promising” and stated he hoped Moscow would “do the best factor”.

However, he added: “Now we’re going to see whether or not or not Russia is there, and in the event that they’re not, it’ll be a really disappointing second for the world.”

He stated Steve Witkoff, his particular envoy, was engaged in severe talks with the Russians in Moscow on the US proposal, which Kyiv has already agreed to.

Mr Trump claims he has acquired “constructive messages” concerning the ceasefire from Moscow and reiterated on Wednesday that he would “do issues financially that may be very unhealthy for Russia” if they didn’t settle for it.

He stated {that a} ceasefire would make sense for Moscow however stated there was “a variety of draw back for Russia too”, with out elaborating.

“Now we have a really advanced scenario solved on one aspect, just about solved. We have additionally mentioned land and different issues that go along with it,” he stated.

“We all know the areas of land we’re speaking about, whether or not it is pull again or not pull again.”

He acknowledged that constructive indicators from the Russians meant “nothing” till a deal had been signed. A lot of Europe and Ukraine consider Mr Putin’s constructive indicators will proceed to imply nothing even after a peace settlement is signed; historical past is full of examples of Russia, underneath Mr Putin’s management, breaking ceasefire agreements, they are saying.

US secretary of state Marco Rubio, who led the delegation in Saudi Arabia, stated after the talks that the US would take the supply to Russia, and the ball is in Moscow’s court docket. “Our hope is that the Russians will reply ‘sure’ as rapidly as attainable, so we will get to the second part of this, which is actual negotiations,” he instructed reporters.

Our World Affairs Editor Sam Kiley studies:

President Volodymyr Zelensky has appointed Main-Normal Andriy Hnatov as Ukraine’s chief of the overall workers as Kyiv seeks to hurry up military reform.

A decree printed on the presidential web site stated Normal Hnatov, a deputy chief of workers, would change Lieutenant-Normal Anatoliy Barhilevych.

“We’re persistently altering the armed forces to make them much more fight prepared. To realize it, we’re altering the administration system and introducing clear requirements,” Defence Minister Rustem Umerov stated in an announcement.

Hnatov has 27 years of army expertise, having risen by means of the ranks from marines brigade commander to main troops within the japanese Donetsk area.

Barhilevych would now oversee army requirements and strengthen self-discipline within the military, the minister stated.

Throughout a press convention within the Kremlin on Thursday, Vladimir Putin stated he agreed with the ceasefire however added there have been “nuances” that needed to be mentioned.

He would conform to a truce primarily based on the idea it will result in “a long-term peace”, he claimed, including that any such settlement needed to eradicate the “root causes” of the battle.

The Russian president stated Russian forces had been transferring ahead alongside all the entrance line and that the ceasefire must be sure that Ukraine didn’t search to make use of it merely to regroup.

Whereas Russian forces have staged a profitable counteroffensive within the border area of Kursk within the final week, their assaults within the japanese Ukrainian area of Donetsk have slowed to a halt. Ukrainians have begun launching counterattacks alongside that japanese line, significantly in Toretsk.

The overwhelming concern amongst Ukrainians and their European allies is that it’s Russia that may use a pause in combating to regroup and assault Ukraine once more.

Ukrainian troopers in Kursk must “give up or die”, Mr Putin warned. He questioned what would occur to troops presently in Kursk throughout any truce.

Beforehand, he has dominated out territorial concessions and stated Ukraine should withdraw totally from 4 Ukrainian areas claimed and partly managed by Russia. He has additionally insisted any ceasefire might proceed provided that the West gave a assure that Ukraine wouldn’t be part of Nato.

Seven months after Ukraine launched an incursion into the western Russian area of Kursk, Moscow are near driving them out utterly.

Kyiv’s forces are quickly dropping land within the area which they hoped could possibly be a crucial bargaining chip in peace negotiations.

Moscow claims that latest advances from its forces have left Ukrainian troops with much less 200 sq. km (77 sq. miles) in Kursk, down from 1,300 sq. km (500 sq. miles) on the peak of the incursion.

A battleground map shared by Kyiv on Sunday additionally confirmed they’d retreated from Sudzha, the most important city Ukraine managed in Kursk.

However Ukraine remains to be holding on to a sliver of land within the area, and Kyiv denies claims that its troops are surrounded.

Yuri Podolyaka, a Ukrainian-born, pro-Russian army blogger, claimed Russia has pushed again Ukrainian forces to the border in some areas, although intense battles are nonetheless underway and Kyiv’s forces had been combating again as they retreated.

A Liberal Democrat MP has warned Britons could possibly be conscripted if a conflict broke out between Russia and the UK.

Mike Martin, an Afghanistan veteran and MP for Tunbridge Wells instructed the Categorical: “There’s a big likelihood that it [war with Russia] would possibly occur so we have to be ready.

“Clearly, if we get entangled in a basic conflict with Russia, we’ll be conscripting the inhabitants – there’s no query about that,”

Nonetheless, he stated that it’s unlikely tensions will escalate that far as added: “[It is] fairly unlikely that we get to that scenario of kind of generalised conflict. I believe you possibly can see an area in between right here and there, the place we’re growing the dimensions of the army fairly quickly.”

The Turkish president has backed Donald Trump’s steps to finish the conflict in Ukraine after the pair spoke on the cellphone.

A press release launched by Tayyip Erdogan’s workplace on Sunday stated that the Turkish chief “helps President Trump’s decisive and direct initiatives to finish the conflict between Russia and Ukraine.”

The assertion additionally says he “emphasised that Turkey has been striving for a simply and lasting peace for the reason that starting of the conflict and can proceed to take action.”