MK sport Kursk region, Russia on March 13, 2025. Photo: VCG" src="https://www.globaltimes.cn/Portals/0/attachment/2025/2025-03-13/8c02934b-cca9-4bd2-9969-3fe3ccbf83ad.jpeg" />

Russian servicemen of the Aida group of Akhmat special forces talk with a woman during an evacuation of civilians amid Russia's military operation in Sudzha, Kursk region, Russia on March 13, 2025. Photo: VCG

 
Russia's Defense Ministry announced Thursday that its forces had retaken the key town of Sudzha in Ukraine-held Kursk region, following President Vladimir Putin's reported visit to Kursk—his first since Ukraine's surprise offensive in August 2024. 

This came as an envoy of US President Donald Trump arrived in Moscow on Thursday for talks on an American-proposed 30-day ceasefire that Ukraine has accepted but which a senior Russian official said would help Kyiv by giving its military a break, AP reported.

Some Chinese analysts see the battlefield development as a signal from Moscow, particularly to the US, aimed at strengthening its negotiating position. With Washington eager for a truce, a short-term cease-fire remains possible. However, any agreement reached on paper risks falling apart, as core disputes between the parties remain unresolved, said analysts.

"Russian troops have liberated the settlement of Sudzha and two more communities in the border Kursk Region over the past 24 hours," Russia's Defense Ministry reported on Thursday. While visiting a command post of Battlegroup Kursk on Wednesday, Putin said that the Russian army "needs to defeat the Ukrainian army in the Kursk region as soon as possible and establish a regional security zone." The border region came under a massive attack from Ukraine on August 6, 2024, according to Russian news agency Tass.

Minutes after Putin's remarks aired on Wednesday, Ukraine's army commander-in-chief, Gen Oleksandr Syrskyi, suggested his troops were pulling back to minimize losses. Syrskyi said the Russian military was suffering huge personnel and equipment losses while trying to achieve "political gains" by attempting to oust Ukrainian troops, The Guardian reported on Thursday. 

The latest developments on the battlefield came after Ukraine agreed to a US proposal for an immediate 30-day cease-fire and pledged to take steps toward restoring a durable peace, according to a joint US-Ukraine statement on Tuesday, Reuters reported.

"Putin's visit to the Kursk Region aims to strengthen Russia's negotiating position and also send a clear message both domestically and internationally. Domestically, it underscores the conflict's critical juncture, calling for unity and sacrifice to safeguard national interests; internationally, it signals Russia's determination to maintain its battlefield advantage, counter Ukraine, and sustain military operations despite the US-led 'peace process'," Sun Xiuwen, an associate professor at the Institute for Central Asian Studies at Lanzhou University, told the Global Times. 

The Kremlin said on Wednesday it would review details from Washington about a proposal for the 30-day cease-fire in Ukraine before responding, according to Reuters. 

Washington, Kiev, and Europe are waiting for Moscow's response to the proposal. 

Concerns difficult to settle 

Trump's Middle East special envoy Steve Witkoff arrived in Moscow on Thursday for talks, Reuters reported. Kremlin Spokesman Dmitry Peskov said at a briefing on Thursday that meetings are expected to be held later Thursday. 

US President Donald Trump has threatened to devastate Russia's economy if Putin rejects the 30-day cease-fire with Ukraine, according to The Guardian. 

Russia, already operating under severe sanctions, has responded calmly to US threats. The so-called "devastating sanctions" may have limited impact, as Moscow has adapted to restrictions and built a degree of economic self-sufficiency, Wang Xiaoquan, an expert with the Institute of Russian, Eastern European & Central Asian Studies of the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, told the Global Times. Wang noted Russia may see Washington's warnings more as a political signal to Europe and Ukraine than a genuine threat, viewing them as largely symbolic and not a cause for concern.

It is the US that is intensifying diplomatic pressure on Russia to halt military operations, suspending military aid to Ukraine while dispatching envoys to push Moscow to accept the cease-fire plan, said Wang, noting that while US envoys are engaged in cease-fire talks with Russian officials this week, negotiations remain fraught with challenges. 

Reuters reported Wednesday that Russia has given the US a list of demands for ending the conflict in Ukraine and resetting ties with Washington, according to two sources familiar with the matter. Russian and American officials discussed the terms during in-person and virtual conversations over the last three weeks. 

The sources described the Kremlin's terms as broad and similar to demands it has previously presented to Ukraine, the US and NATO. Earlier terms included no NATO membership for Kiev and an agreement not to deploy foreign troops in Ukraine, according to Reuters. 

With Russia holding the military advantage and the US exerting pressure on Ukraine, a short-term cease-fire remains possible under terms that likely include freezing Russian-controlled Ukrainian territories, withdrawing Ukrainian forces from Russian territory, prisoner exchanges, and humanitarian corridors, with third-party or neutral oversight. However, any agreement reached on paper carries the risk of being undermined in practice as the core concerns of each side remain unsettled, said Sun. 

While Ukraine seeks a NATO-like defense commitment, the US fears that a clear guarantee could lead to direct confrontation with Russia. Additionally, Washington is engaged in a delicate power play with Moscow, as any explicit security pledge to Ukraine could provoke intensified Russian strikes and limit US negotiating flexibility, Sun said. 

At the core of the deadlock is a fundamental contradiction: Russia demands Ukraine's neutrality as a condition for a cease-fire, while Ukraine insists on security guarantees, said Sun. 

Wang said that reaching a cease-fire agreement requires balancing Ukraine's security demands with Russia's red lines. All these concerns seem difficult to solve at one time.