Russia yesterday claimed that its troops have driven the Ukrainian army out of the biggest town in Russia’s Kursk border region, as a senior Kremlin official said that a US-proposed 30-day ceasefire in the war three years after the full-scale invasion of Ukraine would help Kyiv by giving its weary and short-handed military a break.
The Russian Ministry of Defense’s claim that it has recaptured the town of Sudzha, hours after Russian President Vladimir Putin visited his commanders in Kursk and wore military fatigues, could not be independently verified. Ukrainian officials made no immediate comment on the claim.
The renewed Russian military push and Putin’s high-profile visit to his troops came as US President Donald Trump presses for a diplomatic end to the war. The US on Tuesday lifted its suspension of military aid for Kyiv after senior US and Ukrainian officials made progress on how to stop the fighting during talks held in Saudi Arabia.
Photo: EPA-EFE
Trump on Wednesday said that “it’s up to Russia now,” as his administration presses Moscow to agree to the ceasefire.
Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov yesterday said that US negotiators were on their way to Russia, but he would not comment on Moscow’s view of the ceasefire proposal.
“Before the talks start, and they haven’t started yet, it would be wrong to talk about it in public,” he told reporters.
White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt told Fox News that US National Security Adviser Mike Waltz on Wednesday spoke with his Russian counterpart. She also confirmed that Trump’s special envoy, Steve Witkoff, would head to Moscow for talks with Russian officials, possibly including Putin.
Russian news agencies reported yesterday that Witkoff’s plane had landed in Moscow. It was not immediately possible to verify the reports.
Senior US officials have said they hope to see Russia stop attacks on Ukraine within the next few days.
However, Yuri Ushakov, Putin’s foreign policy adviser, in televised remarks yesterday said that a ceasefire would grant a “temporary break for the Ukrainian military.”
Ushakov said that Moscow wants a “long-term peaceful settlement that takes into account Moscow’s interests and concerns.” His comments came a day after his phone call with Waltz.
Ushakov’s remarks echoed statements from Putin, who has repeatedly said a temporary ceasefire would benefit Ukraine and its Western allies.
The US still has about US$3.85 billion in congressionally authorized funding for future arms shipments to Ukraine, but the Trump administration has shown no interest so far in using that authority to send additional weapons as it awaits the outcome of peace overtures.
The Legislative Yuan’s Finance Committee yesterday approved proposed amendments to the Amusement Tax Act (娛樂稅法) that would abolish taxes on films, cultural activities and competitive sporting events, retaining the fee only for dance halls and golf courses. The proposed changes would set the maximum tax rate for dance halls and golf courses at 50 and 20 percent respectively, with local governments authorized to suspend the levies. Article 2 of the act says that “amusement tax shall be levied on tickets sold or fees charged by amusement places, facilities or activities” in six categories: “Cinema; professional singing, story-telling, dancing, circus, magic show, acrobatics
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