Ukraine war latest: Putin too scared to tell Trump he wants to continue war, Zelenskyy says - as he hits out at 'manipulative' demands

It's been another busy day of updates on the war in Ukraine, with Vladimir Putin giving his first public reaction to the ceasefire proposal.

We're pausing our updates for now - before we go, here's a summary of the day:

Ever since the US proposal of a 30-day ceasefire was put on the table in discussions with Ukrainian officials earlier this week, one key question has been on everyone's mind - will Putin agree to it?

But after his news conference with Alexander Lukashenko this afternoon, many are still left with questions over the Russian president's stance.

While he said Russia agrees with the proposals, he went on to say there are "nuances" and "lots of questions" that remain.

"Our position is based on the assumption that the ceasefire would lead to long-term peace, something that would remove the initial reasons for the crisis," he added.

Putin then went on to reference his visit to the Kursk region yesterday, and described the situation there as "completely under our control".

In such circumstances, he said, it will be good for Ukraine - while implying it won't be a good thing for Russia - to reach a 30-day ceasefire.

He also said Russian forces are now on the offensive in all areas on the front, and stated that the next steps on the conflict will take into account the "fast-changing" developments.

Meanwhile, Volodymyr Zelenskyy hit back at Putin's comments by accusing Russia's president of preparing a rejection of the deal and being "afraid to say directly" to Trump that he wants to continue the war.

He described Putin's words as "very predictable" and said they were "just another Russian manipulation".

Zelenskyy also called on allies to ramp up the pressure on Putin and impose further sanctions.

But while Putin was hosting his Belarusian counterpart, Trump's envoy Steve Witkoff was also in Moscow to present the ceasefire to the Russian president.

We haven't heard how those discussions have been progressing yet, with both parties remaining tight-lipped as talks are expected to continue tomorrow.

Earlier this evening, Volodymyr Zelenskyy called on allies to increase the pressure on Vladimir Putin and impose further sanctions (see 7.38pm post).

If you have been wondering about the effect of European sanctions on the Russian economy, then the current condition of Gazprom is a useful marker.

The Russian gas giant's European markets have almost disappeared since Putin decided to invade Ukraine in February 2022.

At Gazprom Export - housed in a lavish Italian palazzo-styled building in central St Petersburg - only a few dozen staff remain, down from 600 five years ago.

When the building was opened, just over a decade ago, Gazprom CEO Alexei Miller said it was "symbolic" and that Europe would "increasingly need Russian gas".

Now, it may be sold along with other luxury properties.

The state gas company's export arm is "just a shell", a source told Reuters.

In addition, Miller is reportedly planning to cut 1,500 jobs at the parent company's headquarters at Europe's tallest skyscraper, the British-designed Lakhta Centre, also in St Petersburg.

A dramatic decline

Staff have apparently been asked to prepare individual presentations about why they should keep their jobs - echoing Elon Musk's request to public sector workers in the United States.

It is thought that up to 40% of those at Gazprom's HQ could be made redundant.

The firm's figures illustrate why such deep cuts are necessary. Last year, Gazprom posted a net loss of $7bn (£5.4bn) for 2023.

That was its first loss since 1999, the year Putin came to power.

In the first nine months of 2024, it posted another deficit.

In December, its share price fell to its lowest since January 2009, touching 106.1 roubles. That's a decline of more than a third since the start of 2024. 

No route back?

What's more, its European markets appear unlikely to reopen.

The European Union intends to end its use of Russian fossil fuels by 2027.

US gas exporters replaced Russian supplies in Europe, becoming the biggest exporter of Liquified Natural Gas to the continent, with American supplies tripling since 2021.

While Vladimir Putin has indicated he would like to replace European markets with exports to China, the gap is unlikely to be filled.

Even the most ambitious projects under consideration would not reach half the peak exports of 180 billion cubic metres achieved previously.

Gazprom management misjudged how determined European countries would be, an executive said.

The thinking inside the company was that Europe would soon be "begging" for Russian gas supplies to resume.

"We proved to be wrong," the executive commented.

Reuters spoke to three executives and half a dozen former and current Gazprom employees.

Vladimir Putin is not interested in the US ceasefire proposal but also doesn't want to offend Donald Trump, a former Russian prime minister has said.

Mikhail Kasyanov held the position between 2000 and 2004 when Putin served his first term as Russian president.

Speaking on The World, Kasyanov said: "What he explained today was to stop the supply of weaponry to Ukraine.

"It means he would like to see Ukraine get weaker and weaker. He wants to continue conducting this war... believing that he will destroy Ukraine."

Drawing on his experience from working closely with Putin, Kasyanov said the Russian president demands respect.

"Right now he is trying, although it is difficult right now, but he's trying to play a game and we'll see whether Trump will be a subject of this game," he added.

Vladimir Putin "only reacts to hard power" and will "only stop when he hits a brick wall", a former MI6 intelligence officer has told Sky News.

A lasting peace is unlikely as long as Putin remains in the Kremlin, Christopher Steele added. 

In addition, the Russian president "doesn't really accept that Ukraine exists as an independent state".

"That's the real problem we're facing," Steele said.

Regarding a proposed cessation in fighting, Putin has said several times he wants final negotiations to precede a ceasefire, "so for him this is the wrong way round", Steele went on.

In addition, Putin "thinks the Russians are in the ascendency on the battlefield and making gains".

Regarding talks with the Americans, Putin will be "very concerned" not to be seen to be bowing to American pressure, "particularly from Trump", Steele observed.

"Zelenskyy arguably has done just that. I think for Putin, internally, politically, that would be unacceptable."

Economically, the only way in which the US could further punish Russia would be to reduce its oil exports, but that would "put up inflation around the world", Steele said.

"One thing they perhaps could look at would be increasing military training and supplies to Ukraine. That would put pressure on Putin.

"But in general terms I think Putin will play it cleverly, play it long, will tease, will make conditions, will not be stupid enough to refuse [a deal] outright, but will make it pretty difficult for it to stick."

Vladimir Putin has said he still has questions about the ceasefire, and stated Russia's position is based on the assumption a deal would lead to long-term peace and remove the "initial reasons" for the conflict.

Our Moscow correspondent Ivor Bennett runs through what was said in the news conference in the video below...

We've got more reaction from Ukraine to Vladimir Putin's news conference as the Russian president gave an insight into his country's position on a ceasefire deal.

While Putin said Russia agrees with the proposals, he stressed there are "nuances" and "lots of questions" that remain.

Earlier this evening, we heard from Volodymyr Zelenskyy, who called Putin's comments "just another Russian manipulation" and said the Russian president is preparing to reject the deal (see 7.38pm post).

But the Ukrainian president's chief of staff has insisted the country will not agree to a frozen conflict with Russia after Putin set out his conditions.

A frozen conflict is something Ukraine has frequently accused Russia of trying to create, with the term understood to refer to a conflict which is not properly resolved and ends up rumbling on with occasional eruptions.

Referring to the discussions between Ukraine and the US in Saudi Arabia this week, Andriy Yermak explained "we said very clearly that we will never agree to a frozen conflict" and added that it is something the US is also against.

Yermak said Ukraine had also agreed with the US that European representatives would definitely be taking part in the peace process.

There are no indications Vladimir Putin is prepared to compromise on anything serious in a ceasefire deal, a former UK ambassador to Russia has said.

Speaking to our chief presenter Mark Austin, Sir Laurie Bristow said the Russian president is "looking to win" rather than looking for a ceasefire.

"I think what he'll seek to do now is to split Ukraine off again from the US and undermine the US commitment to Europe's security," Bristow said.

"In doing that, I think what he will try to do is use Trump's impatience for a deal and his impatience across a whole range of issues with the Europeans."

Bristow explained that Ukraine "doesn't get a look in" and said that gives us a hint of Putin's objectives.

"It's things like demilitarisation of Ukraine, disarmament of Ukraine, no foreign peacekeepers and Russia getting to keep Crimea and the four regions," he added.

Bristow notes that Putin described a pre-condition for a deal being no weapon supplies to Ukraine during the ceasefire.

"Again, that's an attempt to peel the Ukrainians back off again from the Americans," he added.

The fear across Europe over Donald Trump being so keen to be the peacemaker is that he will do it at all costs, our US correspondent Mark Stone has said.

Stone explains that the fear is Trump could "accept a lot of Vladimir Putin's demands that we don't know the detail of".

He said Trump has already proved that he has Ukraine "over a barrel" after shutting off intelligence and weapons flows to the country to agree to a 30-day ceasefire without any firm security guarantees.

With Trump's envoy Steve Witkoff in Moscow for talks with Putin, Stone added it is not inconceivable that Trump joins in the discussion via a phone call this evening.

Watch Stone's analysis in the video below...

After hearing Vladimir Putin's layered response to the ceasefire this afternoon, we have now had reaction from Volodymyr Zelenskyy.

In his evening statement, the Ukrainian president describes Putin's words as "very predictable" and "very manipulative" and says Russia's president is preparing a rejection of the ceasefire proposal.

"Putin, of course, is afraid to say directly to President Trump that he wants to continue this war, he wants to kill Ukrainians," Zelenskyy says.

"That's why they in Moscow are framing the idea of silence with such preconditions that nothing will happen at all or that it will not happen for as long as possible."

He labels Putin's words as "just another Russian manipulation".

Zelenskyy continues by saying Ukraine does not "set conditions that complicate anything" while stating that Russia does.

"As we have always said, the only one who will drag things out, the only one who will be unconstructive, is Russia," he says. 

"They want a war. Putin has stolen years of peace and continues this war - day after day."

Zelenskyy ends by calling for allies to ramp up the pressure on Putin and impose further sanctions.

We can bring you more from Vladimir Putin's news conference earlier, and while much of the attention was on his comments around the ceasefire, he did also address the situation in Kursk.

It follows his visit to the region yesterday while dressed in camouflage after Russia's military continued its advances on the front.

In his news conference, Putin said Russia had trapped the remaining Ukrainian soldiers in the western Kursk region, where they had clung on for more than seven months in one of the war's key battles.

He said the troops were cut off inside the invasion zone, and issued a warning to the Ukrainian forces still in the area. 

"If a physical blockade occurs in the coming days, then no one will be able to leave at all, there will only be two ways - to surrender or die," he said.

Ukraine's incursion into the region last August came as a major surprise, and aimed to divert Russian forces from elsewhere on the frontlines while also taking land to trade for its own captured territory.

But with the support of troops from its ally North Korea, Russian forces have gradually been clawing back the lost ground, heightening the pressure on Ukraine.

You can watch the footage of Putin visiting Kursk in the video below...