This week, heavy fighting raged in Russia\u2019s Kursk as Russian forces were trying to eject Ukrainian troops from the western part of the region where Ukraine was holding a foothold. Ukraine has recently advanced near Pokrovsk, in Donetsk region. Its troops have started to win back small patches of land in eastern Donetsk region as the Russian offensive effort there has stalled in recent months and Russian brigades have been depleted, The New York Times said. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Ukraine continues to fire its home-made drones deep into Russia. On Monday, drones struck an oil refinery in the Samara region that produces fuel for Russian warplanes attacking Ukraine. Russia said Tuesday that its air defenses had shot down 337 Ukrainian drones overnight across 10 regions. The Ukrainian General Staff said the drones had successfully struck the Moscow oil refinery. Ukraine also hit a hidden drone manufacturing site inside Russia late on Wednesday. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
A number of diplomatic developments marked the week. Ukrainian and U.S. officials met for talks in Saudi Arabia on Tuesday. Ukraine said it was ready to accept an immediate 30-day ceasefire following the negotiations if Russia does so too. The U.S. has subsequently resumed security and intelligence aid to Ukraine. On Thursday, Trump\u2019s special envoy Steve Witkoff arrived in Moscow for discussions on a proposed truce.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
U.S. has \u201ccautious optimism\u201d on ceasefire deal after Trump envoy\u2019s Moscow visit, U.S. national security adviser says. <\/strong>On Thursday night, Trump\u2019s national security adviser Mike Waltz appeared on Fox News, claiming \u201cwe do have some cautious optimism\u201d that a ceasefire was imminent. His comments came after the American president\u2019s envoy, Steve Witkoff, traveled to Moscow seeking to negotiate directly with Vladimir Putin. <\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cI\u2019m not going to announce or negotiate anything on national television, and certainly not ahead of the president,\u201d Waltz said of the talks. He added: \u201cThe shuttle diplomacy is happening (\u2026) special envoy Witkoff is out there and bringing things back for us to evaluate and for President Trump to make decisions on next steps.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n Yet by Friday morning, it was unclear whether Witkoff had actually met with Putin in Moscow, Politico said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cWe agree with the proposal to cease hostilities but we have to bear in mind that this ceasefire must be aimed at a long-lasting peace and it must look at the root causes of the crisis,\u201d Putin said at a news conference Thursday. \u201cThe idea itself is correct, and we certainly support it,\u201d he added.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyi described Putin\u2019s response to the plan as \u201cmanipulative.\u201d \u201cIn practice, he\u2019s preparing a rejection,\u201d Zelenskyi said in his nightly address on Wednesday, adding that: \u201cPutin, of course, is afraid to tell President Trump directly that he wants to continue this war, wants to kill Ukrainians.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"