US arms flow to Ukraine again as Kremlin considers ceasefire proposal
Moscow is awaiting ‘detailed information’ about the move, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said.
US arms deliveries to Ukraine have resumed, officials said.
The move comes a day after the Trump administration lifted its suspension of military aid for Kyiv in its fight against Russia’s invasion, and Ukrainian officials signalled that they were open to a 30-day ceasefire backed by Washington.
Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov said it is important not to “get ahead” of the question of responding to the ceasefire proposal.
He told reporters that Moscow is awaiting “detailed information” about it from the US and suggested that Russia must receive that first before it can take a position.
Arms deliveries to Ukraine have already resumed through a Polish logistics centre, the foreign ministers of Ukraine and Poland announced on Wednesday.
The deliveries go through a Nato and US hub in the eastern Polish city of Rzeszow that has been used to ferry Western weapons into neighbouring Ukraine about 45 miles away.
The American military help is vital for Ukraine’s short-handed and battle-weary army, which is struggling to keep Russia’s bigger military force at bay.
But for Moscow, more American aid spells potentially more difficulty in achieving its war aims and likely will be a tough sell in Moscow for Washington’s peace efforts.
The US government has also restored Ukraine’s access to unclassified commercial satellite pictures provided by Maxar Technologies through a programme Washington runs, Maxar spokesperson Tomi Maxted told The Associated Press.
The images help Ukraine plan attacks, assess their success and monitor Russian movements.
Meanwhile, an intensifying Russian effort to push Ukrainian forces out of its Kursk region has yielded breakthroughs in recent days, Ukrainian soldiers told The Associated Press.
The fighting has escalated as ceasefire talks come to a head, with Moscow intent on taking back its territory and Kyiv determined to hold onto it as a bargaining chip in any negotiations.
Ukrainian forces made a daring raid into the Russian region last August in the first foreign occupation of Russian territory since the Second World War.
They have held on despite intense pressure from tens of thousands of Russian and North Korean troops.
Recent fighting has reportedly focused on the Kursk town of Sudzha, which is a key Ukrainian supply hub and operational base.
Ukrainian soldiers said that the situation is dynamic and fighting continues in and around the town, but three of them conceded Russian forces were making headway.
Russian state news agencies RIA Novosti and Tass reported that the Russian military has entered Sudzha. It was not possible to independently verify either side’s claims.
Inside Ukraine, Russian ballistic missiles killed at least five civilians, officials said Wednesday.
US President Donald Trump wants to end the three-year war and pressured Mr Zelensky to enter talks. The suspension of US assistance came days after Mr Zelensky and Mr Trump argued about the conflict in a tense White House meeting.
The administration’s decision to resume military aid after talks on Tuesday with senior Ukrainian officials in Saudi Arabia marked a sharp shift in its stance.
Mr Trump said “it’s up to Russia now” as his administration presses Moscow to agree to the ceasefire.
“And hopefully we can get a ceasefire from Russia,” Mr Trump said Wednesday in an extended exchange with reporters during an Oval Office meeting with Micheal Martin, the Taoiseach of Ireland.
“And if we do, I think that would be 80% of the way to getting this horrible bloodbath” ended.”
The US president again made veiled threats of hitting Russia with new sanctions.
“We can, but I hope it’s not going to be necessary,” Mr Trump said.
US secretary of state Marco Rubio, who led the American delegation to Tuesday’s talks in Saudi Arabia, said that Washington would present the ceasefire offer to the Kremlin, which has so far opposed anything short of a permanent end to the conflict and hasn’t accepted any concessions.
“We’re going to tell (the Russians) this is what’s on the table. Ukraine is ready to stop shooting and start talking. And now it’ll be up to them to say yes or no,” Mr Rubio told reporters after the talks.
“If they say no, then we’ll unfortunately know what the impediment is to peace here.”
Mr Trump’s special envoy, Steve Witkoff, is expected to travel this week to Moscow, where he could meet with Russian President Vladimir Putin, according to a source.
French President Emmanuel Macron welcomed the US-Ukraine agreement and said on X that “the ball is now clearly in Russia’s court”.
Russian legislators are wary about the prospect of a ceasefire. Senator Konstantin Kosachev noted in a post on the messaging app Telegram: “Russia is advancing (on the battlefield), so it will be different with Russia.
“Any agreements (with the understanding of the need for compromise) should be on our terms, not American.”
