Trump has a target on his back. He’s being pressured both domestically and abroad.
And Donald Trump has been blindsided by what this foreign leader just demanded.
In a bold move on Thursday, Russian President Vladimir Putin dismissed President Trump’s freshly minted proposal for a 30-day cease-fire in Ukraine, insisting that Western nations must first cease arming Kyiv before Moscow would even entertain the idea. The rejection came mere hours after Putin’s inner circle labeled the plan “useless to everyone,” casting fresh doubts over the prospects for peace in the war-torn region.
Putin signaled openness to pausing the conflict but attached hefty strings to his approval. “We agree with proposals to cease hostilities [in Ukraine], but this cessation must lead to a long-term peace and eliminate the root cause of the initial crisis,” he declared, leaving the “cause” conveniently vague.
He went further, demanding ironclad assurances that Ukraine would refrain from mobilizing troops, training soldiers, or receiving weapons during the truce—conditions he notably didn’t extend to Russia’s own forces.
The timing couldn’t have been more dramatic. As Putin laid out his stance, U.S. special envoy Steve Witkoff touched down in Moscow to kick off cease-fire negotiations with Russian officials. Earlier that day, Putin’s senior aides had already poured cold water on Trump’s initiative. Yuri Ushakov, a seasoned diplomat and former ambassador to Washington, didn’t mince words on Russian state TV: “These kinds of steps, which only mimic peace efforts, are useless to everyone.”
The Trump administration notched a diplomatic win earlier in the week when Ukraine agreed to the 30-day pause, a move hailed by congressional Republicans as a step toward U.S. interests.
“Peace for Ukraine is in our nation’s best interest, which is why President Trump has made it one of his administration’s top priorities,” Rep. Pat Fallon (R-Texas) posted on X, celebrating the breakthrough. Yet Russia’s swift rebuff has left that optimism hanging in the balance.
Ushakov, asked if Moscow would sign onto the deal Kyiv had already accepted, was blunt: “It only gives the Ukrainians the opportunity to regroup, gain strength and to continue (defending their country).”
He’d made the same point in a call with U.S. national security adviser Mike Waltz, fresh off Waltz’s successful talks with Ukrainian leaders in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, on Tuesday. “This (cease-fire) is nothing more than a temporary respite for the Ukrainian military, nothing more,” Ushakov insisted.
Interestingly, Russia could gain the same breathing room—a fact not lost on some Ukrainians wary of Trump’s plan. On the flip side, Witkoff’s arrival in Moscow offers Russia a chance to mirror Ukraine’s public willingness for peace, as demonstrated in Jeddah. Kyiv’s decision to embrace the cease-fire stirred mixed emotions at home, but sources close to the talks say it was partly a gesture to prove to Trump that Ukraine is serious about ending the bloodshed.
Trump, for his part, put the pressure squarely on Moscow. “It’s up to Russia now,” he said Wednesday, framing the cease-fire as a cornerstone of his vision for regional stability. John Hardie of the Foundation for Defending Democracies agreed, noting that Tuesday’s Jeddah meeting “puts the ball back in Russia’s court and places the onus on Washington to persuade Moscow to accept and implement the cease-fire.”
Should Russia balk, Hardie urged Trump to follow through on threats to squeeze Russia’s economy harder, starting with its oil profits.
Despite Ushakov’s claim that only Kyiv would benefit from a pause, Ukrainian troops and commanders interviewed by the New York Post last week showed no appetite for a break.
“Why would we stop fighting? We can’t. This is our home,” a soldier stationed in Sumy Oblast told the outlet.
Two weeks before Kyiv signed onto Trump’s proposal, Ukraine’s spy chief, Oleh Ivashchenko, argued at a forum alongside President Volodymyr Zelensky that it was Russia—not Ukraine—desperate for a timeout. “Russia needs a pause to restore its economy, regroup its forces, and launch a new aggression against Ukraine,” he said.
Kyiv’s acceptance of the cease-fire, then, wasn’t about weakness but about signaling readiness for peace—while making clear it’s prepared to fight if Russia forces its hand, according to Ukrainian officials and defense analysts.
Rep. Joe Wilson (R-SC), a fierce Russia critic, lauded Trump’s diplomatic coup, saying, “Woke war criminal Putin doesn’t get to play the victim.” He added a sharp jab: “President Trump graciously offered Putin a way out of this insanity. Problem is Putin does not want peace, he wants Ukraine.”
As talks loom in Moscow, the world watches to see if Putin will seize Trump’s olive branch—or snap it in two.
Stay tuned to the Conservative Column.
