Pressed to accept a ceasefire in Ukraine, Putin seems likely to seek his own conditions

Soldiers of Ukraine’s 5th brigade hold a poster thanking the U.S. for support at the front line near Toretsk, Donetsk region, Ukraine, Tuesday, March 11, 2025. (AP Photo/Roman Chop)

Russian President Vladimir Putin chairs a Security Council meeting via videoconference at the Kremlin in Moscow, Russia, Friday, March 7, 2025. (Mikhail Metzel, Sputnik, Kremlin Pool Photo via AP)

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy reacts during a briefing in Kyiv, Ukraine, Wednesday, March 12, 2025. (AP Photo/Efrem Lukatsky)

In this photo provided by the Ukrainian Emergency Service, a burned car and damaged residential buildings are seen after a Russian missile hit the area, in Kryvyi Rih, Ukraine, Wednesday, March 12, 2025. (Ukrainian Emergency Service via AP)

In this photo provided by Ukraine’s 65th Mechanised Brigade press service, Ukrainian servicemen train at the military training ground in the Zaporizhzhia region, Ukraine, Monday, March 10, 2025. (Andriy Andriyenko/Ukraine’s 65th Mechanised Brigade via AP)

In this photo provided by the Ukrainian Emergency Service, firefighters work at a damaged building after a Russian missile hit the area, in Kryvyi Rih, Ukraine, Wednesday, March 12, 2025. (Ukrainian Emergency Service via AP)

Russian President Vladimir Putin attends a meeting of The Defenders of the Fatherland Foundation in Moscow, Russia, Thursday, March 6, 2025. (Mikhail Metzel, Sputnik, Kremlin Pool Photo via AP)

Fires burn after a Russian drone attack near Odesa, Ukraine, Tuesday, March 11, 2025. (AP Photo/Michael Shtekel)

In this photo provided by Ukraine’s 93rd Kholodnyi Yar Separate Mechanized Brigade press service, an aerial view shows Pokrovsk, the site of heavy battles with Russian troops, in the Donetsk region, Ukraine, Sunday, March 9, 2025. (Iryna Rybakova/Ukraine’s 93rd Mechanized Brigade via AP)