Russian President Vladimir Putin says several elements of Washington’s latest proposal to halt the war in Ukraine remain unacceptable, signalling that negotiations to end the nearly four-year conflict are still far from resolution. His comments, released ahead of a visit to New Delhi, follow a five-hour Kremlin meeting with U.S. envoys Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner, part of President Donald Trump’s most aggressive diplomatic intervention since the invasion began.
U.S. officials insist the marathon talks suggest Putin is interested in a deal, but the central points that divide Moscow and the West remain unresolved — namely, Ukraine’s territorial sovereignty and what security guarantees could protect it from future Russian attacks. Putin emphasized that the discussions were highly detailed and necessary, but declined to specify which terms Russia could or could not accept. European leaders, excluded from this U.S.-led channel, have accused Moscow of performing interest rather than committing to settlement.
Their skepticism deepened Thursday as Russian strikes pummeled multiple Ukrainian cities overnight. A missile attack on Kryvyi Rih wounded several civilians, including a young child, while dozens of homes, a school and public infrastructure were damaged. In Kherson, continued artillery and drone bombardment forced the shutdown of the city’s main thermal power plant, leaving more than 40,000 residents without heat and triggering emergency warming stations.
Despite diplomatic movement, Putin warned that revealing negotiation details could derail the process, calling it “premature” to discuss potential concessions. Witkoff and Kushner are expected to continue talks with Ukraine’s lead negotiator Rustem Umerov in Miami, though the competing priorities of territory, security, and international legitimacy remain formidable obstacles.
