Ukraine-Russia ceasefire latest: Putin tours Kursk while Trump threatens sanctions if he doesn’t agree to ceasefire

G7 foreign ministers are to meet in Canada as Russia considers a proposal for a ceasefire in Ukraine.

Peace in Ukraine is likely to top the agenda for Thursday’s meeting in Charlevoix, Quebec, with foreign secretary David Lammy stressing the need to ensure Kyiv is “in the strongest possible position”.

Mr Lammy said: “If we do not achieve lasting peace in Ukraine, the instability and insecurity that has hit the living standards of working people in Britain will only get worse and Putin’s appetite for conflict and chaos will only grow.”

The meeting, which will also be attended by US secretary of state Marco Rubio, comes as the Kremlin considers a proposal for a 30-day ceasefire put forward after talks between the US and Ukraine.

American officials were expected to put the proposals directly to Russian president Vladimir Putin overnight on Wednesday, with Mr Rubio saying “the ball is truly in their court”.

On Wednesday evening, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said Moscow was still awaiting “detailed information” on the proposal.

Two people familiar with the matter said Russia has presented Washington with a list of demands for a deal to end the Ukraine war and reset relations with the United States, reported Reuters.

The specific demands were not clear, nor whether Russia, which holds just under a fifth of Ukraine, was willing to enter peace talks with Kyiv prior to their acceptance.

The people said the demands were similar to previous Kremlin terms including no Nato membership for Kyiv, recognition of Russia’s claim to Crimea and four Ukrainian provinces and an agreement that foreign troops not be deployed in Ukraine.

Mr Rubio said that Europe would have to be involved in any security guarantee for Ukraine, and that the sanctions Europe has imposed would also be on the table.

Secretary of state Marco Rubio said the United States was hoping for a positive response to its Ukraine ceasefire plan, and that if the answer was “no” then it would tell Washington a lot about the Kremlin’s true intentions.

Speaking to reporters when his plane refueled in Ireland, Mr Rubio said on Wednesday: “Here’s what we’d like the world to look like in a few days: Neither side is shooting at each other, not rockets, not missiles, not bullets, nothing … and the talking starts.”

The US on Tuesday agreed to resume weapons supplies and intelligence sharing with Ukraine after Kyiv said at talks in Saudi Arabia that it was ready to support a ceasefire proposal.

The Kremlin on Wednesday said it was carefully studying the results of that meeting and awaited details from the US.

The Kremlin said on Wednesday it would review details from Washington about a proposal for a 30-day ceasefire in Ukraine before responding, while US secretary of state Marco Rubio hoped a deal would be struck within days.

As Moscow considered the plan, president Vladimir Putin, dressed in military fatigues, made a surprise visit to Russia’s Kursk region for the first time since Ukrainian troops captured part of it last year.

With Mr Putin’s presence highlighting recent Russian advances in Kursk, Valery Gerasimov, head of Russia’s General Staff, told the Kremlin leader his troops had repelled Ukrainian forces from 86 per cent of the ground they once held in Kursk.

Ukraine had hoped to use that territory as a bargaining chip in any peace talks with Moscow.

The US on Tuesday agreed to resume weapons supplies and intelligence sharing with Ukraine after Kyiv said at talks in Saudi Arabia that it was ready to support a ceasefire proposal.

The Kremlin on Wednesday said it was carefully studying the results of that meeting and awaited details from the US.

“Hopefully, we can get a ceasefire from Russia,” Donald Trump told reporters in the Oval Office.

“I’ve gotten some positive messages, but a positive message means nothing. This is a very serious situation.”

The Kremlin said on March 12 it was awaiting details from Washington about a proposal for a ceasefire in Ukraine, while senior Moscow sources said a deal would have to take account of Russia’s advances and address its concerns.

Mr Trump said a ceasefire would make sense for Russia but said there was “a lot of downside for Russia too”, without elaborating.

“We have a very complex situation solved on one side, pretty much solved. We’ve also discussed land and other things that go with it,” he said.

“We know the areas of land we’re talking about, whether it’s pull back or not pull back.”

Asked if he would do anything to pressure Russia, Mr Trump said: “I can do things financially, that would be very bad for Russia. I don’t want to do that because I want to get peace.”

One senior official from Lithuania – one of the Baltic nations which fears Mr Putin’s invasion could be extended to their border – said: “What for us, Ukraine or the US, is 30 days could be just 30 minutes for Russia.”

Arms deliveries to Ukraine have already resumed through a Polish logistics centre, the foreign ministers of Ukraine and Poland announced on Wednesday.

The deliveries go through a Nato and US hub in the eastern Polish city of Rzeszow that has been used to ferry Western weapons into neighbouring Ukraine about 70 kilometres (45 miles) away.

The American military help is vital for Ukraine’s shorthanded and weary army, which is having a tough time keeping Russia’s bigger military force at bay.

For Russia, the American aid spells potentially more difficulty in achieving war aims, and it could make Washington’s peace efforts a tougher sell in Moscow.

The US government has also restored Ukraine’s access to unclassified commercial satellite pictures provided by Maxar Technologies through a program Washington runs, Maxar spokesperson Tomi Maxted told The Associated Press.

The images help Ukraine plan attacks, assess their success and monitor Russian movements.