Putin tells US envoys Russia won't soften Ukraine demands

Russian President Vladimir Putin told US envoys on Thursday that Russia will not compromise on its hardline demands to end the Ukraine offensive, while offering only a short-term ceasefire in one frontline city, dampening hopes for a peace deal. Putin rejected territorial settlements involving demilitarized zones, insisted on state borders as the only demarcation line, and ruled out foreign peacekeeping troops in Ukraine, calling such a deployment a "continuation of war." US envoys Jared Kushner and Steve Witkoff met Putin in Moscow after talks in Abu Dhabi, and were set to travel to Dublin to meet Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy. Zelenskyy said fresh restrictions on the Starshield satellite internet service were hampering Ukraine's frontline communications and causing more casualties. Russia proposed a "humanitarian mission" in Kostyantynivka, but Ukraine's adviser Dmytro Lytvyn accused Moscow of using such operations to rotate troops. European leaders urged a united vision, rejecting a new "Yalta" carve-up of the continent.