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Russia ‘studying’ US ceasefire proposal agreed to by Ukraine

Russia ‘studying’ US ceasefire proposal agreed to by Ukraine
By Brian Osgood
Published On 13 Mar 2025

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13 Mar 2025 - 22:05
 (22:05 GMT)

That’s a wrap from us

Thank you for joining Al Jazeera for coverage of the ongoing negotiations between Russia, Ukraine and the US over the fate of a 30-day ceasefire deal.

To learn how Russian President Vladimir Putin reacted to the proposal, check out our coverage here.

Then, go inside the reconstruction efforts in the Ukrainian town of Borodyanka with this story.

And check out our analysis of whether a US decision to sever intelligence-sharing with Ukraine helped Russia make advances in Kursk here.

We hope to see you again soon!

Russian President Vladimir Putin and his Belarusian counterpart Alexander Lukashenko at the Grand Kremlin Palace in Moscow [Maxim Shemetov/Pool via AP Photo]
13 Mar 2025 - 22:00
 (22:00 GMT)

Here is a recap of today’s events

  • Russian President Vladimir Putin has weighed in on a proposed 30-day ceasefire in Ukraine, saying he agrees with the “idea” of ending hostilities but needs assurances that any deal would “eliminate the original causes of this crisis”.
  • His Ukrainian counterpart Volodymyr Zelenskyy, however, called Putin “manipulative” and said the Russian leader would either stall or try to kill the deal.
  • Meanwhile, in the Oval Office, US President Donald Trump once again signalled that Ukraine would have to make territorial concessions to Russia and that its desire to join the NATO alliance was a non-starter.
  • Trump described the negotiations as a “complicated” process of redrawing international boundaries: “You’re sort of creating the edge of a country.”
  • A poll released on Wednesday from Reuters and Ipsos found that 56 percent of Americans felt Trump was “too closely aligned” with Russia.
Russian President Vladimir Putin speaks during a joint news conference with Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko on March 13 [Alexander Zemlianichenko/AP Photo]
13 Mar 2025 - 21:45
 (21:45 GMT)

Territorial concessions in Ukraine signals ‘might makes right’: Expert

Peter Zalmayev, a political scientist in Kyiv and the executive director of the Eurasia Democracy Initiative, has told Al Jazeera he would be wary of any peace deal that would sacrifice Ukrainian territory.

Russia currently occupies 20 percent of Ukraine’s territory, and Zalmayev said surrendering that area would have a “severe impact on international law”.

“That would create a precedent that might makes right: You move in. You take over the territory of a neighbouring weaker, smaller state. And that, in itself, becomes a norm,” he explained.

Even if Ukraine were to accept such a loss, Zalmayev said there could be further dangers.

“Ukraine might actually be at peace with the idea of exchanging that loss for a promise of solid guarantees of security, investment, economic development. But then you also run into trouble: What exactly constitutes the 20 percent? And will that 20 percent all of a sudden balloon to, let’s say, 25 percent?”

Zalmayev pointed out that Russia has also partially occupied other areas, including Donbas, Kherson, Kharkiv and Zaporizhia. He said that Russia may push to retain control of those areas as well, if territorial concessions are on the table.

“That would create an even worse precedent — that Ukraine would have to cede those cities like Kherson, which fought back and was reconquered from the Russians at the cost of thousands of lives of soldiers,” he explained.

“It could create significant discontent on the part of the returning soldiers, veterans, et cetera. And that in itself, I think, Vladimir Putin is very cognizant of and actually would not mind chaos in Ukraine.”

13 Mar 2025 - 21:37
 (21:37 GMT)

Occupied territory is a ‘bargaining chip’ for Putin: expert

Leonid Ragozin, a journalist and co-author of the book, A European Tragedy, has told Al Jazeera that territorial concessions are not the main goal of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.

“For Vladimir Putin, territory is not the main issue. The war is not for territory. The war is for the future security architecture in Russia, and I think Putin quite genuinely sees this war as existential for Russia,” he said.

“So when it comes to the occupied territory, this is a bargaining chip, and this is also the punishment Russia is inflicting on Ukraine for what it is as intransigence.”

Ragozin explained that, the longer the war stretches on, the more Russia will gain the upper hand.

“Putin, I think, believes that he has all the trump cards in his hands. The Russians have been continuing their slow advance in Ukraine for many months – for over a year. And this is what is probably going to continue if no peace deal is achieved at the moment,” he said.

“So the calculation for Putin is that, with every month of fighting continuing, Ukraine is losing, and the deal that is feasibly attainable by Ukraine is getting worse with each month Ukraine continues to remain in the battle. So Putin is just waiting for Kyiv to admit that there is no way out from this war except negotiations.”

13 Mar 2025 - 21:30
 (21:30 GMT)

Russia’s Saratov airport pauses flights

The Russian aviation watchdog Rosaviatsiya says in a message on the communications app Telegram that the Saratov International Airport in the country’s southwest has temporarily halted operations.

Russian media, citing the Saratov regional governor, says the halt is due to the threat of possible Ukrainian drone attacks.

13 Mar 2025 - 21:15
 (21:15 GMT)

Majority of Americans think Trump is too close to Russia: Poll

A new poll from the news agency Reuters and the research firm Ipsos found that nearly 56 percent of respondents felt Trump was “too closely aligned” with Russia in his foreign policy.

That included 27 percent of the Republicans surveyed. Among Democrats alone, the disapproval rose to 89 percent.

The poll also asked participants to weigh in on whether they backed Trump’s idea to condition “US military support for Ukraine on the US getting a share of Ukraine’s mineral wealth”. Trump has long been pushing for access to — and possibly ownership of — Ukraine’s rare earth minerals, to offset the costs of US support.

Some 44 percent of survey respondents agreed with that proposal.

A demonstrator in Kyiv holds a sign depicting Trump and Putin as two halves of a playing card on March 8 [Valentyn Ogirenko/Reuters]
13 Mar 2025 - 21:00
 (21:00 GMT)

Zelenskyy says Putin is ‘scared’ to reject Trump’s offer

The Ukrainian leader says that his Russian counterpart wants to continue the war but does not want to be seen as rejecting the proposed 30-day ceasefire, so he is instead adding conditions that kill or delay the deal.

“He is in fact preparing a rejection at present, because Putin is of course scared to tell President Trump that he wants to continue this war, that he wants to kill Ukrainians,” Zelenskyy said.

“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.”

13 Mar 2025 - 20:45
 (20:45 GMT)

Putin gave a ‘sensible’ reply to ceasefire deal: Academic

Nicolai Petro, a political science professor at the University of Rhode Island, has described Putin’s guarded response to the 30-day ceasefire proposal as a smart one.

“I think it’s a sensible reply to a very vague proposal at this point. The devil is always in the details, and that’s what Moscow is waiting to see,” Petro told Al Jazeera.

Earlier in the day, Putin told a news conference that he agreed in general to the prospect of peace, but he would like to see a deal address “the root causes of the crisis”.

Petro explained what that might mean from a Russian perspective.

“The root causes of the conflict as Russia sees it is the oppression of the Russian-speaking minority within Ukraine and the unbridled expansion of NATO eastward,” he said.

“So the solution to those two would need to be a comprehensive one, one that would take into account the and deal with the hostility that the Ukrainian government has shown to its own citizens who are Russian-speaking, as well as toward Russia generally.”

13 Mar 2025 - 20:30
 (20:30 GMT)

A ‘positive dynamic’ for Russia in the Ukraine peace talks

Ivan Timofeev, the director general of the Russian International Affairs Council, has told Al Jazeera that there is a clear “ positive dynamic” in the current ceasefire negotiations for Russia.

“Indeed, this is a positive sign  due to the fact that the Russian president has not rejected the very idea of the peace settlement,” Timofeev said.

“However, it is normal to hear the concerns and — let’s say — the demand for details on the parameters of such a ceasefire.”

Timofeev emphasised that Russia is seeking “a  stable and long peace, not just the ceasefire”, and he called the fate of Ukrainian troops in Kursk an “ open question”, as Russia closes in.

13 Mar 2025 - 20:15
 (20:15 GMT)

US to resume shipments of long-range weapons to Ukraine: Media

The news agency Reuters reports that the US is set to send an upgraded round of ground-launched small diameter bombs (GLSDB) to Ukraine.

This comes as the eastern European country’s supply of the US-developed Army Tactical Missile Systems (ATACMS), another long-range weapons system, runs low.

The Reuters report cites two anonymous sources familiar with the matter. The GLSDBs will include upgrades meant to counter the effectiveness of Russian jamming efforts, which has reportedly hindered Ukraine’s ability to successfully hit targets.

13 Mar 2025 - 20:00
 (20:00 GMT)
Analysis

Trump ‘effusive’ about NATO support for Ukraine ceasefire effort

By Mike Hanna

Reporting from Washington, DC

Trump is welcoming what appears to be movement in the attempt to get a ceasefire under way.

He’s confirmed that his people are still talking to the Russian leadership. Steve Witkoff, his special representative, is still in Moscow.

So President Trump is saying that it’s looking promising. He is pleased to see the guarded reaction from Vladimir Putin, but he is saying it’s got to get done quickly: “This is taking too long. We’ve got to get it done, and we’ve got to get a permanent peace.”

And he was very effusive about the role that NATO has played in it and the support that NATO has given in the person of Mark Rutte.

So there is a clear warming of the relationship between Rutte and Trump, it would appear.

But that was just one of the subjects that he spoke about in a sometimes rambling, sometimes almost un-understandable stream of consciousness exposition.

President Donald Trump speaks to reporters on March 13 [Pool via AP]
13 Mar 2025 - 19:45
 (19:45 GMT)

Russian officials head to Beijing to engage in nuclear talks

On Friday, Russian officials will join representatives from China and Iran in Beijing to discuss a proposed deal on Tehran’s nuclear weapon programme.

The US has hoped to prevent Iran from acquiring nuclear weapons, though US President Trump previously pulled the country out of a 2015 agreement that would see Iran scale down its nuclear ambitions in exchange for sanctions relief.

Trump commented on the upcoming nuclear negotiations in the Oval Office today.

“Maybe they’re gonna talk about non-nuclear programmes. Maybe they’re gonna be talking about the de-escalation of nuclear weapons because I was talking about that with President Putin very strongly,” he said.

Trump emphasised his good relations with Putin throughout his Oval Office appearance.

“ I got along very well with President Putin. I got along with most of them. I get along great with President Xi. I got along great with Kim Jong-Un,” Trump said, referring to the Russian presidents alongside leaders from China and North Korea. “I got along great with all of them.”

Find out more about tomorrow’s nuclear talks here.

President Donald Trump speaks during a meeting with NATO Secretary-General Mark Rutte [Pool via AP]
13 Mar 2025 - 19:36
 (19:36 GMT)
Developing

Zelenskyy slams Putin for ‘manipulative’ ceasefire statement

The Ukrainian leader says that Putin is expressing support for a ceasefire while putting conditions in place to ensure one does not move forward.

“We now have all heard from Russia Putin’s very predictable, very manipulative words in response to the idea of a ceasefire,” Zelenskyy said in his nightly address.

13 Mar 2025 - 19:30
 (19:30 GMT)

Ukrainian official says will ‘never agree’ to frozen conflict

Ukrainian presidential Chief of Staff Andriy Yermak says his country will not accept a “frozen conflict” with Russia — where fighting largely ceases but the underlying questions are never fully resolved and skirmishes sometimes breaks out.

“We said very clearly that we will never agree to a frozen conflict,” Yermak said during a television interview.

“The main thing is that Ukraine is not alone. Ukraine is with its partners,” he added. “We agreed with our American partners that representatives of Europe will definitely take part in the peace process.”

13 Mar 2025 - 19:15
 (19:15 GMT)

‘ You’re sort of creating the edge of a country’: Trump

In his Oval Office appearance today, Trump has repeatedly said he and his advisers have been discussing “ concepts of land” in relation to a peace deal between Ukraine and Russia.

Trump implied the negotiations would redraw the international boundary between the two countries, though he did not offer specifics.

“ It’s complicated,” Trump said. “You’re sort of creating the edge of a country.”

“The sad part is that country, if this didn’t happen — and it wouldn’t have happened — I don’t know if they would have to give anything back,” he added, seeming to refer to Russia.

Trump went on to express optimism that Russia would compromise in the name of peace.

“I hope Russia’s going to make the deal too. And I think once that deal happens, you’re never gonna be in a process — I don’t think they’re going back to shooting again,” he said.

“I don’t think anyone wants to go back. They’ve been doing this for a long time, and it’s vicious and violent.”

The US president also dismissed concerns from other European countries that Russia could also pursue aggressive actions against them.

“I think, when this gets done, it’s done. They’re going to all want to go home and rest. I don’t see it happening. Nope, I don’t see that happening. And we’ll make sure it doesn’t happen.”

President Donald Trump meets NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte in the Oval Office [Evelyn Hockstein/Reuters]
13 Mar 2025 - 19:00
 (19:00 GMT)

Why the focus on icebreaker vessels?

During Trump’s Oval Office meeting with NATO Secretary-General Mark Rutte, the conversation repeatedly returned to the subject of icebreakers.

The term refers to ships specially designed to carve a path through the Arctic ice, allowing travel through the region all year round.

Even with climate change melting polar icecaps, conditions in the Arctic can be perilous for seafaring vessels, which can be otherwise trapped by the ice.

The US has long maintained it needs icebreaker vessels to ensure its interests in the Arctic, both in terms of minerals, oil and national security.

Trump said at today’s meeting he would add 58 icebreakers to the US fleet.

“Russia, as you know, has about 40 of them, and we have one big icebreaker. But that whole area is becoming very important for a lot of reasons,” he said, pointing to Arctic trade routes.

“The routes are very direct to Asia, to Russia, and you have ships all over the place, and we have to have protection. So we’re gonna have to make a deal on that.”

He then used the question of icebreakers to reaffirm his intention to annex Greenland, an autonomous territory under Denmark.

“Denmark is not able to do that. You know, Denmark’s very far away and really has nothing to do,” he said.

He also added that, if Canada wanted to benefit from US icebreakers, it too would have to cede its sovereignty.

Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, Vice President JD Vance and National Security Adviser Mike Waltz in the Oval Office on March 13 [Evelyn Hockstein/Reuters]
13 Mar 2025 - 18:45
 (18:45 GMT)

Photos show devastation from Russian strikes across Ukraine

[Ukrainian Emergency Service via AP]
[Ukrainian Emergency Service via AP]
[Ukrainian Emergency Service via AP]

13 Mar 2025 - 18:30
 (18:30 GMT)

Trump calls Putin’s statement ‘promising’ but ‘incomplete’

Responding to Putin’s statement on the proposal for a 30-day ceasefire in Ukraine, Trump said the Russian president gave remarks that were not “complete”.

Still, he framed Putin’s general support of a ceasefire as a positive, though the Russian president did say he hoped to hammer out more details first.

“It was a very promising statement because other people are saying different things, and you don’t know if they have any meaning,” Trump said from the Oval Office.

“I don’t think they have anything to do with it. No, he put out a very promising statement, but it was not complete. And yeah, I’d love to meet with him or talk to him, but we have to get it over with fast. You know, every day people are being killed.”

President Donald Trump reacts in the Oval Office on March 13 [Evelyn Hockstein/Reuters]
13 Mar 2025 - 18:15
 (18:15 GMT)

Trump uses Russia to justify annexation of Greenland

In the Oval Office, Trump has reaffirmed his intention to annex Greenland, using Russian and Chinese activity in the Arctic as a rationale for the move.

“I think it’ll happen,” Trump said of the annexation.

“I didn’t give it much thought before, but I’m sitting with a man that could be very instrumental. You know, Mark, we need that for international security, not just security. International. We have a lot of our favourite players cruising around the coast, and we have to be careful.”

Seated across from him, NATO Secretary-General Mark Rutte declined to back the proposal but praised US leadership in the Arctic region.

“So when it comes to Greenland — yes or no — joining the US, I would leave that outside, for me, this discussion because I don’t want to drag NATO in that,” Rutte said.

But when it comes to the high north and the Arctic, you are totally right. The Chinese are now using these roots. We know the Russians are re-arming. We know we have a lack of icebreakers. So the fact that the seven — outside Russia — the seven Arctic countries working together on this under US leadership is very important to make sure that that part of the world stays safe.”

Trump, right, speaks with NATO Secretary-General Mark Rutte [Pool via AP]
13 Mar 2025 - 18:00
 (18:00 GMT)

Ukraine orders evacuations of some towns near Kursk border

In a social media post, the military administration of Ukraine’s Sumy region says that “a decision was made to conduct a mandatory evacuation of the population from eight settlements” near the border with Kursk, where Russian forces are carrying out attacks on Ukrainian forces.

The post cites “the exacerbation of the operational situation in the region”, as well as frequent shelling by Russian forces.