Russian President Vladimir Putin spoke for the first time today about the 30-day ceasefire proposal that was adopted by the U.S. and Ukrainian delegations at a recent meeting in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia. He said he agreed with the proposal, but he had many questions. In fact, the word “but” was repeated several times during his address, and many believe that Putin is not quite ready to suddenly agree to a temporary peace.

"Who will issue orders to cease hostilities and how much will those orders cost?" Putin asked.

The Russian president also asked who would decide where a "violation of a possible ceasefire agreement" would occur along a 2.000-kilometer stretch, alluding to the length of the border between Russia and Ukraine.

"All these issues need to be carefully studied by both sides," he said, adding that the idea of ​​a ceasefire "is good and that I absolutely support it, but that there remain issues that need to be discussed."

Putin's support for the idea of ​​a peaceful end to this conflict was assessed by US President Donald Trump as promising, but not complete. Just like Putin, Trump announced that he was ready to discuss with Putin the details of the agreement. Previously, Moscow assessed that Ukraine wanted to use the proposed 30-day ceasefire to rest and regroup.

On the other hand, Ukrainian President Zelensky called Moscow's position manipulation, and said that Putin is afraid of Trump.

But Putin's statement increasingly goes in the direction of speculation that has emerged in Western media in recent weeks, referring to Moscow and Putin himself trying to continue the war.

The war in Ukraine may not end before 2026, and Russia is already working to weaken America's negotiating position by stoking tensions between the Donald Trump administration and other countries, according to a secret Kremlin document reported by the Washington Post.

The document, written in February by an influential Moscow think tank close to Russia's Federal Security Service (FSB), outlines Russia's maximalist demands for any end to the war in Ukraine. The document says US President Donald Trump's preliminary plans for a peace deal within 100 days are dismissed as "impossible to achieve."

"A peaceful resolution to the war in Ukraine cannot come before 2026," the document states.

The document also rejects any proposal to send peacekeepers to Ukraine, insists on recognizing Russian sovereignty over occupied Ukrainian territories, calls for further division of Ukrainian territory by creating a buffer zone in the northeastern territory on the border with Russian regions such as Bryansk and Belgorod. It also calls for the creation of a demilitarized zone in southern Ukrainian regions near Crimea, which Russia illegally annexed in 2014, including the Odessa region.

The document speaks of the need for the "complete dismantling" of the current Ukrainian government.
The document, obtained by a European intelligence agency and seen by The Washington Post, highlights the challenges Trump still faces in reaching any agreement with Russia on a peace deal for Ukraine.

“Russia is not interested in an early resolution of the situation. They keep talking about the root causes, which, as you know, relate to the internal politics of Ukraine, and more importantly, to the European security architecture and the role of NATO. And a simple ceasefire that does not take this into account is not in Russia’s interest. Trump doesn’t seem to understand that,” said Thomas Graham, a former senior director at the White House National Security Council.

Russia is trying to lure Trump to talks by showing its "openness and flexibility", while Putin will try to drag out the negotiations by positioning himself as "a true friend of Donald Trump, who completely understands him, who wants to help him achieve his goals in the United States", according to some world analyses.

Full analysis in the video above in the text.