AN ENVOY of US President Donald Trump arrived in Moscow today for talks on a 30-day ceasefire which Ukraine has accepted, but a senior Russian official argued would only help Kiev.

The diplomatic effort coincided with a Russian claim that its troops have driven the Ukrainian army out of a key town in Russia’s Kursk border region, where Moscow has been trying for seven months to dislodge Ukrainian troops from their foothold.

A US official anonymously told reporters Mr Trump’s special envoy, Steve Witkoff, had arrived.

The Russian Defence Ministry’s claim that it recaptured the town of Sudzha, a Ukrainian operational hub in Kursk, came hours after President Vladimir Putin visited his commanders in the region. The claim could not be independently verified and Ukrainian officials made no immediate comment.

The renewed Russian military push and Mr Putin’s high-profile visit to his troops unfolded as Mr Trump seeks a diplomatic end to the war, which began more than three years ago with Russia’s invasion.

The US lifted its March 3 suspension of military aid for Kiev on Tuesday after senior US and Ukrainian officials reported making progress on how to stop the fighting during talks in Saudi Arabia.

Yuri Ushakov, Mr Putin’s foreign policy adviser, complained in televised remarks today that a ceasefire would grant a “temporary break for the Ukrainian military.”

Speaking later to reporters in the Kremlin later in the day, Mr Ushakov reaffirmed that the proposed ceasefire would “give us nothing,” adding that it would “only give the Ukrainians a chance to regroup, consolidate their forces and keep doing the same in the future.”

Mr Ushakov would not comment on Mr Witkoff’s talks in Moscow, saying that the parties had agreed to keep them confidential.

He said Russia wants a “long-term peaceful settlement that takes into account Moscow’s interests and concerns.”

His comments echoed statements from Mr Putin, who has repeatedly said a temporary ceasefire would benefit Ukraine and its Western allies.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky chided Russia on the Telegram messaging app today for what he said was its slow response to the ceasefire proposal, accusing Moscow of trying to delay any peace deal.

Mr Zelensky said that Ukraine is “determined to move quickly toward peace” and hoped US pressure would compel Russia to stop fighting.

Meanwhile, Poland’s President Andrzej Duda called on the US again today to deploy nuclear weapons to his country as a “deterrent” to Russia.

Mr Duda made his appeal in an interview with the Financial Times published today, repeating an appeal he had made to the Biden administration in 2022.

Prime Minister Donald Tusk said last week that Poland was in talks with France concerning President Emmanuel Macron’s proposal to use France’s nuclear arsenal to protect the continent from Russian threats. 

Moscow called that idea “extremely confrontational.”