Putin questions Ukraine ceasefire plan and sets out string of conditions

Zelenskyy says Russia is ‘manipulative’ and seeking to extend the war while Trump says he is ‘ready to call’ Putin

Russian President Vladimir Putin walks past an honor guard prior to a meeting with Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko at the Grand Kremlin Palace in Moscow, Russia, Thursday, March 13, 2025. Picture: Maxim Shemetov/Pool Photo via AP

Vladimir Putin has said he has many questions about the proposed US-brokered ceasefire with Ukraine and appeared to set out a series of sweeping conditions that would need to be met before Russia would agree to such a truce.

Speaking at a press conference at the Kremlin alongside the Belarusian president, Alexander Lukashenko, Putin said he agreed in principle with US proposals to halt the fighting but said he wanted to address the “root causes of the conflict”.