Putin Rejects US Temporary Ceasefire Plan, Appears In Military Fatigues

Russia has rejected the US-proposed 30-day ceasefire which came out of the Jeddah meeting with Ukraine, describing that it would only allow Ukrainian forces to regroup.

„This is nothing other than a temporary time-out for Ukrainian soldiers, nothing more. Our goal is a long-term peaceful resolution,” Yuri Ushakov, a senior aide to Russian President Vladimir Putin, told Russian state television. „Our goal is a long-term peaceful settlement that takes into account the legitimate interests of our country and our well-known concerns. It seems to me that no one needs any steps that (merely) imitate peaceful actions in this situation,” he said. He further expressed that it would „give nothing” to Russia.

Russian President Putin came to visit the headquarters of the Kursk operation, dressed in military uniform. This does not seem like a signal that he is ready for a 'bad’ peace.

Russia does not need a ceasefire, Ukraine needs a ceasefire. pic.twitter.com/aJ9jsiescX

— Sašo Ornik (@ornik_saso) March 12, 2025

This was the first official public response on the issue from the Kremlin, after it said Wednesday it was „studying” the proposal. President Trump’s special envoy, Steve Witkoff, is currently en route to Moscow to discuss the temporary truce proposal.

Ushakov says he has communicated Moscow’s rejection of the 30-day ceasefire plan to Trump’s national security adviser Mike Waltz.

None of this comes as a great surprise, given not only that Russian forces have the clear battlefield momentum and upper-hand, but back in January President Putin explained why he would never settle for any ceasefire that’s temporary.

He had said at the time, „The goal should not be a short truce, not some kind of respite for regrouping forces and rearmament with the aim of subsequently continuing the conflict, but a long-term peace based on respect for the legitimate interests of all people, all nations living in this region.”

The Russian leader had on Wednesday visited Kursk region for the first time since Ukraine’s incursion there and holding of territory which began in August.

„Our immediate goal is as soon as possible to conclusively destroy the enemy entrenched on the territory of Kursk region,” Putin said.

And the optics and symbolism were not missed on Russia’s enemies, as Putin was dressed in military fatigues as he addressed top generals, which is a rarity.

President Trump has been warning of what could happen if Moscow doesn’t come the negotiating table. „I can do things financially that would be very bad for Russia,” Trump said earlier. „I don’t want to do that because I want to get peace. I want to see peace and we’ll see. But in a financial sense, yeah, we could do things very bad for Russia. It would be devastating for Russia.”

But as Moon of Alabama highlights in fresh analysis, the meager 30-day truce offering which came out of Jeddah demonstrates weakness on the US side. Asia Times had predicted:

According to the latest from Riyadh, Ukraine says it is ready for a 30 day cease fire. If this is what Washington “extracted” from the Ukrainians, it is operationally meaningless. With Russia on the brink of winning in Kursk and elsewhere, the Russians won’t accept any such deal. If it is a ruse to allow the US to resume arms shipments to Ukraine, knowing Russia will reject it, the so-called peace initiative is a dead letter.

Meanwhile RT has featured the explanation and more context to Russia’s rejection by political analyst Sergey Markov as follows…

Reasons why Russia to refuse a ceasefire (and especially anything deemed temporary):

1. A ceasefire would be exploited by the West and Ukraine to halt the advance of the Russian army, strip it of its initiative, supply the Ukrainian army with more weapons, continue extensive mobilization in Ukraine, and strengthen the repressive and anti-Russian nature of the Ukrainian political regime

2. The experience of the Minsk 1 and Minsk 2 agreements clearly demonstrates this pattern

3. The consistent dishonesty of Western politicians and media regarding the conflict, as well as their refusal to acknowledge their own and Ukraine’s culpability, strongly suggests that history will repeat itself

4. Russian President Vladimir Putin and other Russian officials have repeatedly stated that what Russia needs is lasting peace, not just a temporary ceasefire

5. The West cannot really be trusted

6. Russia is advancing. A ceasefire always benefits those who are retreating.