US negotiators are in Moscow for talks over ending the war in Ukraine. Steve Witkoff, a top Donald Trump negotiator, is set to meet with Vladimir Putin later today. This comes as the US President issued a “devastating” threat to the Russian leader. Speaking with reporters in the Oval Office, Trump said: “I can do things financially that would be very bad for Russia. It would be devastating for Russia. But I don’t want to do that because I want to see peace.”
However, Putin could “hold hostage” the US ceasefire proposal that Ukraine has agreed to so that Russia can extract concessions before formal talks to end the war have even started, experts have warned. The Kremlin may also “demand a halt to weapons supplies to Ukraine to as a condition of agreeing to the temporary ceasefire”, a source close to the Kremlin has reportedly said. The Institute for the Study of War (ISW) note they did not specify if this would include all international weapons provisions to Ukraine, or only those from select countries. Suspending US or other military assistance to Volodymyr Zelensky’s troops during a ceasefire would be “extremely advantageous” to Russia” , it added. This is because Russia continues to receive critical supplies and assistance from Iran, North Korea, and China.
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