Kremlin: Reasons to be optimistic about ceasefire deal

Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said Friday that there were reasons for "cautious optimism" regarding a proposed ceasefire deal between Ukraine and Russia, following talks between a U.S. envoy and Russian President Vladimir Putin in Moscow. Speaking to reporters in a telephone news briefing, Peskov referenced comments from Putin on Thursday in which he expressed qualified support for a U.S. ceasefire proposal to halt Russia's war with Ukraine for 30 days but said some questions needed to be answered. Peskov said that while much remains to be done, Putin "expressed solidarity with [U.S. President Donald] Trump's position." He said Putin held late-night talks Thursday with U.S. special envoy Steve Witkoff, during which Putin "conveyed information and additional signals to President Trump." The Kremlin spokesman said both sides agreed Putin and Trump should speak, adding that the timing of the conversation would be agreed upon once Witkoff had conveyed the new information to Trump. Trump said in a post on his Truth Social website Friday morning that "there is a very good chance that this horrible, bloody war can finally come to an end." He also said he had "strongly requested" that Putin spare the lives of "thousands" of Ukrainian troops in Russia's Kursk border region who were "completely surrounded" by the Russian military. "This would be a horrible massacre, one not seen since World War II," Trump wrote on social media. Later Friday, Putin told the National Security Council in Moscow that if the Ukrainian troops laid down their arms and surrendered, they would not be killed. Ukraine's military, however, denied that its forces in Kursk were surrounded by Moscow's troops and said reports to that effect were Russian manipulation. In his nightly address to his nation Thursday, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said that Putin's comments to Witkoff were "very manipulative," and that he thought Putin's qualified support for the U.S. plan was an effort to lay the groundwork for rejecting it. "He is in fact preparing a rejection at present, because Putin is, of course, scared to tell President Trump that he wants to continue this war, that he wants to kill Ukrainians," Zelenskyy said. He noted Ukraine had accepted the U.S. proposal and was ready to organize monitoring and verification. "We are not setting conditions that complicate the process; Russia is," Zelenskyy said. White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said Friday that no discussions between Trump and Putin had been scheduled, but she said that could change. She called the talks in Moscow on Thursday "a productive day for the United States of America and for the world in terms of peace." On Thursday at the White House, ahead of talks with NATO Secretary-General Mark Rutte, Trump said it would be "very disappointing" if Russia ended up rejecting U.S. efforts to end the fighting. Meanwhile, Britain's Defense Ministry said Friday that Russia's prioritization of funding its war with Ukraine had likely resulted in insufficient funding for average Russians' health care, leading to shortages of medical staff and equipment. In its Defense Intelligence report, the ministry said Russia reportedly closed at least 160 hospitals in 2024, including 18 maternity facilities and at least 10 children's clinics. The report said Russia's small towns and villages had been particularly affected. The Defense Ministry said the 500,000 casualties Russia has sustained in the war in Ukraine most certainly continue to put a strain on all levels of care in the Russian military medical system.