Volodymyr Zelenskyy says Russia is “more inclined” towards a ceasefire but details of any potential deal remain scarce – including any concessions Kyiv or Moscow might be asked to make.
President Donald Trump said the meeting between his envoy Steve Witkoff and President Vladimir Putin on Wednesday delivered “great progress” but gave no specifics.
An agreement has been reached for a meeting between the US and Russian leaders in the coming days, according to Russia.
It’s not the first time that negotiations over a possible pause to the fighting have ramped up, but none have ever yielded a cessation of hostilities on the battlefield in the years since the 2022 full-scale invasion.
President Trump famously vowed to end the war in 24 hours after returning to the White House, a promise he did not fulfil.
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What has been happening on the battlefield?
Donald Trump and Vladimir Putin agree to meet in ‘coming days’, Kremlin aide says
Trump vowed to end Ukraine war in first 24 hours of his presidency – nearly 200 days in, could he be close?
US special envoy’s visit to Moscow may get Putin to offer something, but likely not a ceasefire in Ukraine
Discussion of a possible ceasefire – or negotiations towards one – has increased this week as we approach Mr Trump’s deadline of August 8 for Russia to reach a peace deal with Ukraine or face severe economic penalties.
The penalties may also target third countries that buy Russian oil in a bid to weaken Moscow’s economy.
Meanwhile, on the battlefield, Russian forces have likely advanced to the outskirts of Kupyansk in north-eastern Ukraine, according to the Institute for the Study of War thinktank.
The city was captured in the first wave of Russian advances in February 2022 but was liberated by Ukrainian forces in Kyiv’s stunning counterattack later that year.
Kremlin forces have continued to make slow battlefield gains along the frontline at the cost of heavy losses.
Last week, President Putin said his troops had captured the town of Chasiv Yar after more than a year of fierce combat.
The claimed capture, which would be Russia’s most significant seizure in many months, was denied by Ukraine.
What has Ukraine said about negotiations?
After the Witkoff-Putin meeting, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy had a call with Mr Trump, joined by European allies.
Speaking on social media on Thursday, Mr Zelenskyy said he hoped for “real progress on the path to peace and guaranteeing Ukraine’s independence under any circumstances”.
“The priorities are absolutely clear,” he said. “The first is to stop the killings, and it is Russia that must agree to a ceasefire.
“The second is a format for leaders so that the meeting can work for a truly lasting peace. We in Ukraine have said more than once that the search for real solutions can become truly effective precisely at the level of leaders. We need to decide on the time for such a format, with a range of issues.
“The third is the long-term nature of security. This is possible together with the United States and Europe.”
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Putin ‘playing a long game’
It remains to be seen if Mr Putin is serious about negotiations or is simply playing along to placate President Trump.
Former UK ambassador to Ukraine, Simon Smith, told Sky News that he has been “playing a long game”.
“I think he’s pretty certain in his own mind that time is on his side, that all he needs to do is to keep grinding on and wait for Ukraine, and the support for Ukraine, to buckle and to go away, and then he wins.”
“So [any agreement] may be something like a short-term ceasefire or an agreement to stop particular kinds of military action or so on.”
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What has previously been discussed?
When a pause in the fighting seemed like a prospect earlier this year, the US said both sides should agree to an immediate 30-day ceasefire, which could then be mutually extended.
Mr Zelenskyy said back then that he was ready to agree to a ceasefire, following a meeting between his officials and US Secretary of State Marco Rubio in Saudi Arabia.
The Ukrainian president added that the ceasefire proposal on the table back then was “not only concerning rockets, drones, and bombs, not only in the Black Sea, but also along the entire front line”.
There was no mention of territory, which may be the biggest obstacle to a lasting peace agreement.
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Russia claims a number of regions of Ukraine, including swathes of territory that its forces do not occupy, and has demanded these be handed over. Ukraine has vowed to recapture all its territory, including Crimea.
There is also the matter of how any ceasefire or peace deal would be enforced, with Sir Keir Starmer and French President Emmanuel Macron’s ‘coalition of the willing’ peacekeeping force idea likely to be discussed once again.
