Putin's answer to the ceasefire proposal, 13 March 2025

What did Moscow actually say to the idea of a 30-day ceasefire on 13 March 2025? The answer, from Russian President Vladimir Putin, was neither a yes nor a no. He said the US proposal for a ceasefire in Ukraine would depend on Russia's conditions being met, and that there would be further discussions.

The proposal he was answering

The proposal had been announced two days earlier. On 11 March 2025, the United States and Ukraine said they intended to seek a 30-day ceasefire with Russia after talks in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia. The US side was represented by Secretary of State Marco Rubio and National Security Advisor Mike Waltz; Ukraine's delegation included presidential chief of staff Andriy Yermak.

On the same day, the United States government lifted its suspension on sharing intelligence and military aid to Ukraine. Taken together, the two announcements set the terms against which Putin's reply on 13 March was measured.

Europe plans separately

Also on 11 March, the military chiefs of all European NATO countries met in Paris to discuss a potential European peacekeeping force in Ukraine, with Ukrainian representatives present. The United States was not involved in the meeting.

The discussion fitted into the coalition of the willing, a British- and French-led initiative announced by British Prime Minister Keir Starmer on 2 March 2025. Later, it came to include 34 countries pledged to strengthened support for Ukraine, with readiness to join a peacekeeping force. That force was envisaged for deployment only once Ukraine and Russia signed a comprehensive ceasefire agreement or peace deal.

Fighting did not pause

The battlefield and the skies did not wait for diplomacy. On 11 March, Ukraine launched a massive drone attack on Moscow, the largest inside Russia since the start of the war. At least three people were killed and 18 injured, fires were reported across the city, and flights from Sheremetyevo International Airport were suspended. Russia said its air defences had shot down at least 337 Ukrainian drones overnight across 10 oblasts.

That same day, a Russian missile struck a cargo ship carrying grain to Algeria at the Port of Odesa, killing four crew members and severely damaging the vessel.

In Kursk Oblast, Russia announced on 11 March that its forces had retaken multiple villages over the previous several days, up to the outskirts of Sudzha, the main town held by Ukrainian forces, as Ukrainian troops withdrew to avoid encirclement. On 12 March, Russian troops, backed by close air support, entered Sudzha, ending seven months of Ukrainian occupation.

What 13 March added

By 13 March, then, Putin was responding from a position in which Russian troops had just entered Sudzha, while a US-Ukrainian ceasefire proposal and a European planning effort were both on the table. His statement kept the proposal alive but attached Russia's conditions to it, and pointed to more talks.