Russia’s stalling contrasted with Trump’s rush for a valuable breakthrough as his trade policies set off stock market slumps and cast a cloud over the economy. “I think we’re going to be in very good shape to get it done. We want to get it over with,” Trump said at the Oval Office on Thursday, in an outburst of optimism that jarred with reality.

Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov says Vladimir Putin met with U.S. envoy Steve Witkoff to discuss the American proposal for a cease-fire in the war with Ukraine.

U.S. President Donald Trump said on Thursday that his special envoy Steve Witkoff is in serious discussions with Russia about ending the war in Ukraine. “Hopefully they’ll do the right thing,” Trump told reporters during an Oval Office meeting with NATO Secretary-General Mark Rutte.

"Reports about the enemy's alleged 'encirclement' of Ukrainian units in the Kursk region are not true and are created by the Russians for political goals and pressure on Ukraine a

President Donald Trump appealed to Russian President Vladimir Putin to spare the lives of thousands of Ukrainian troops he said were in a “very bad and vulnerable position” and avoid what he said would be a massacre unlike anything since World War II.

The Kremlin said there are reasons to be optimistic about a settlement to the conflict but that more work needs to be done.