Kremlin Aide Dismisses US-Proposed Ceasefire Plan for Ukraine

A top adviser to Russian President Vladimir Putin rebuffed the US-offered ceasefire in Ukraine on Thursday, despite US President Donald Trump's chief negotiator visiting Moscow for talks.

Yuri Ushakov, one of the most important members of Russia's negotiating team with the United States, expressed his dissent on state television, stating that the suggested 30-day pause in hostilities would only allow Ukrainian troops to reorganize. "This is nothing but a temporary time-out for Ukrainian fighters, nothing more. Our aim is a long-term peaceful solution," Ushakov said, also saying, "Measures that copy peaceful measures are unnecessary."

Ushakov also disclosed that he had conveyed Moscow's concerns over the ceasefire offer in a telephone conversation with US National Security Advisor Mike Waltz on Wednesday.

Steve Witkoff, a personal friend of President Trump and the top US negotiator, also reached Moscow for direct negotiations on the ceasefire proposal.

Yet Ushakov moderated his position a little, noting that he was only giving his own view and that President Putin would come back later in the day with a definitive answer.

In a symbolic political gesture, Putin appeared in public in the Kursk region earlier on Thursday, clad in camouflage military fatigues, as his troops pushed further forward in the region.

The suggested US ceasefire initiative aims to end hostilities for 30 days and lay foundations for a more comprehensive peace accord. Ukraine has already signed on to the idea after negotiations in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, effectively putting the decision at Russia's doorstep.

"Ukraine is willing to cease fire and negotiate, and now it will be their turn to say yes or no," US Secretary of State Marco Rubio said in an interview with journalists following a meeting with Ukrainian leaders in Jeddah.

"I hope they're going to say yes, and if they do, then I think we've made great progress. If they say no, then we will, unfortunately, know what the impediment is to peace here," Rubio added.

Up to this point, the White House has not made any comment on the Kremlin aide's statement.