War and Peace: Russia Closes in on Kursk as Trump-Putin Talks Loom

Russia is close to repelling the remaining Ukrainian forces holding ground in Russia’s Kursk region, a key bargaining chip for Ukraine, even as the US continues to push for a ceasefire with President Donald Trump slated to speak to his Russian counterpart on Tuesday, Reuters reported.

The Ukrainian offensive – which marked the largest attack on Russian territory since World War II – has been gradually rolled back by Moscow’s forces, reducing the area under Kyiv’s control to about 42 square miles from more than 528 square miles it claimed at its peak last summer.

Russian commentators said Moscow’s troops had pushed Ukrainian forces back to the border in several areas.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy denied that his troops were surrounded but warned of a possible Russian attack on Ukraine’s northeastern Sumy region, which borders Kursk.

Meanwhile, Trump last week called for the safe passage of Ukrainian troops trapped in the region, an appeal that Russian President Vladimir Putin dismissed unless Kyiv agrees to surrender.

Meanwhile, Kursk is likely to be a topic for discussion during a phone call between Trump and Putin on Tuesday, according to the Associated Press.

The US president said Tuesday’s talks will also touch on land and power plants, a process he described as “dividing up certain assets.”

The Kremlin confirmed the planned talks but declined to provide details, with officials claiming that “the content of conversations between two presidents is not subject to any prior discussion.”

The upcoming talks come a week after Ukraine agreed to a US-backed 30-day ceasefire proposal, even though Russia has yet to formally accept.

Putin has insisted that a ceasefire cannot take effect until key conditions are met, including Ukraine renouncing NATO aspirations and recognizing Russia’s territorial claims over the annexed Ukrainian regions in the east.

Amid efforts to end the war, Ukraine’s top sanction official told Politico that Western sanctions against Russia could be lifted if it helps deliver security and justice for Kyiv.

Vladyslav Vlasiuk, Zelenskyy’s commissioner for sanctions policy, explained Russia has begun exploring potential sanction relief in an effort to alleviate its battered economy.

He said that economic measures remain a key bargaining tool, adding that Ukraine would only consider such discussions if Russia made significant steps toward peace.

Despite his remarks and overtures toward Russia, Trump has warned Moscow of additional sanctions if negotiations to end the war fail.