Russia ready for Ukraine talks without preconditions, says Putin

Russia is ready to hold peace talks with Ukraine "without preconditions", President Vladimir Putin said on Saturday. This came after US President Donald Trump lashed out at Putin saying "maybe he doesn't want to stop the war."

"During yesterday's talks with Trump's envoy Witkoff, Vladimir Putin reiterated that Russia is ready to resume negotiations with Ukraine without any preconditions," Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov said. He added that Putin had repeated the same several times in the past.

Meanwhile, Russia confirmed that all Ukrainian troops have been forced out of parts of Kursk region. “The complete defeat of our enemy along Kursk’s border region creates the right conditions for further successes for our troops and in other important areas of the front,” Putin said.

However, Ukrainian officials denied any such development saying, “The statements of representatives of the high command of the aggressor country about the alleged end of hostilities in the Kursk region of the Russian Federation are not true.”

“The defensive operation of the Ukrainian Defense Forces in certain areas in the Kursk region continues. The operational situation is difficult, but our units continue to hold designated positions and carry out assigned tasks, while inflicting effective fire damage on the enemy with all types of weapons, including using active defense tactics,” it added.

The development came as Trump and Zelenskyy met in Vatican City during the pope's funeral to explore the possibility of a ceasefire agreement. During the meeting, both leaders held a constructive discussion on critical steps toward achieving peace, a source told The Associated Press, adding that both sides expressed willingness to act swiftly.