The operation of the Russian armed forces in the Russian Kursk region to push back Ukrainian troops, who last year launched a cross-border offensive there, is in its final phase, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov announced today, quoted by Reuters.
According to him, the command of the "North" Army Group" reported to Russian President Vladimir Putin about entering the final stage of the operation to "liberate the Kursk region", TASS noted.
Putin visited the Kursk region yesterday for the first time since the surprise Ukrainian invasion of it in August 2024.
"During his visit to one of the command posts in the Kursk region, Putin listened to reports from the commander of the "North" and his deputy, who reported to the Supreme Commander-in-Chief on the progress, as well as the entry into its final phase, of the operation to liberate the Kursk region from the militants wedged there," Peskov told TASS.
Against this backdrop, Moscow expects Washington to inform it about the outcome of the talks in Jeddah, TASS reports.
At a meeting at the White House yesterday with Irish Prime Minister Michaël Martin, Donald Trump said that his envoys were traveling to Russia to try to obtain its consent to a ceasefire. Subsequently, White House press secretary Caroline Levitt specified that Trump's envoy on "hot files" Steven Witkoff will visit Moscow "this week".
According to sources familiar with the contacts between the United States and Russia, Moscow has presented the American side with a list of demands in order to reach an agreement to end the war in Ukraine and restore relations with Washington, Reuters reports.
The agency notes that it is not clear exactly what Moscow has included in its list of demands and whether it is ready to engage in peace talks before accepting them. Russian and American officials have discussed the terms in virtual and face-to-face talks over the past three weeks, two people familiar with the matter said. They describe the Kremlin's conditions as broad and similar to demands previously made to Ukraine, the United States and NATO.
These earlier conditions included Ukraine not joining NATO, no foreign troops being stationed in the country, and international recognition of Russia's claims to Crimea and four Ukrainian regions, Reuters recalls.