US team headed to Moscow for Ukraine talks as Putin visits Kursk

According to U.S. President Donald Trump, U.S. officials are soon to travel to Russia to discuss a potential ceasefire agreement in Ukraine. This announcement comes after Ukrainian officials met with U.S. officials in Saudi Arabia in a high-profile meeting, agreeing to a 30-day ceasefire. Previously, Secretary of State Marco Rubio stated, "The ball is really in their (Russia's) court," with the U.S. believing the only way to end the fighting is through peaceful negotiations.

The Kremlin has stated that it is studying the ceasefire proposal, and a phone call between Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin is possible. Following the meeting in Jeddah on Tuesday, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said that it is now up to the U.S. to persuade Russia to agree to the "positive" proposal. Trump, speaking alongside Irish Prime Minister Micheál Martin in the Oval Office on Wednesday, said he had received "positive information" about the possibility of a ceasefire.

"But positive information means nothing," he said. "This is a very dire situation." Trump did not specify which officials would be traveling to Moscow. However, Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt told reporters at the White House that National Security Secretary Mike Waltz had already spoken with his Russian counterpart. The White House confirmed the plans on Wednesday. "We urge the Russians to sign onto this plan. This is the closest we have been to peace in this war," Leavitt said.

The Kremlin stated that it is studying the proposed ceasefire agreement and further details, with spokesman Dmitry Peskov saying that these details would be released "through various channels" in the coming days. In the Oval Office, Trump said he believed a ceasefire made sense for Russia, adding – without providing further details – that Russia also had "a lot of disadvantages." "We've solved a very complex problem in one way. Almost solved. We also discussed land and other things related to it," Trump added. "We know the areas of land we're talking about, whether to retreat or not."

In order to put pressure on Russia, Trump said he "can do things economically." "It would be very bad for Russia," he said. "I don't want to do that because I want to have peace." The meeting in Jeddah was the first meeting between U.S. and Ukrainian officials since a February 28 meeting between Zelenskyy, Trump, and Vice President JD Vance devolved into an argument and ultimately led to the U.S. suspending military aid and intelligence sharing. Following the Jeddah meeting, the suspension was lifted, and Trump said he believed the "difficult" Ukrainian side and Zelenskyy now both want peace.

Even as negotiations about a potential ceasefire are underway, fighting in Ukraine continues to rage. Russian drones and missiles reportedly struck targets in Zelenskyy's hometown of Kryvyi Rih, as well as the port city of Odesa and the Dnipropetrovsk and Kharkiv regions. Conflict is also continuing in Russia's Kursk region, with Peskov saying that Russian forces are "successfully advancing" and retaking areas controlled by Ukrainian troops. Late Wednesday, the Kremlin said President Putin visited a command post in the region. Video released by the Kremlin showed him walking alongside his military chief, Valery Gerasimov, both wearing combat gear. It was the Russian president's first visit to the region since the Ukraine invasion across the border last August. Russian media reported that President Putin ordered the military to "completely liberate" the region during the visit. He has not commented on the ceasefire proposal reached by Ukraine and the U.S. on Tuesday.

Ukrainian military chief Oleksandr Syrskyi also said on Wednesday that some of its troops were retreating from Kursk. "In the most difficult situations, my priority has always been and remains to save the lives of Ukrainian soldiers," he said in a post on the Telegram messaging application.