A U.S.-Ukraine accord on a ceasefire proposal has put the notion of a negotiated end to the three-year war on the agenda, and in the hands of Russian President Vladimir Putin. But even before Moscow responds,

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy said on Thursday that Russia's Vladimir Putin is preparing a rejection of a ceasefire proposal, but is scared to say this directly to U.S. President Donald Trump.

President Vladimir Putin said on Thursday that Russia had trapped the remaining Ukrainian soldiers in its western Kursk region, where they have clung on for more than seven months in one of the key battles of the war.

Russia's Security Council's Deputy Chairman Dmitry Medvedev attends a meeting of the Council for Science and Education at the Joint Institute for Nuclear Research in the Moscow region's city of Dubna,

Vladimir Putin told a news conference that he agreed with the idea of a ceasefire, but he immediately spelled out tough conditions that appeared to rule out agreement.