'Nothing more than a temporary breather for Ukraine': Vladimir Putin aide slams ceasefire proposal

"It would be nothing more than a temporary breather for the Ukrainian military," Yuri Ushakov told state media as reported by AFP.

He made the remarks after speaking to US national security advisor Mike Waltz over the phone.

He said President Vladimir Putin would "probably make more specific and substantive assessments" on Thursday.

Ushakov also said that Russia aimed for a "long-term peaceful solution" that would secure Russia's "legitimate interests."

"That is what we are striving for," he said.

"Any steps that imitate peaceful action are, I believe not needed by anyone in the current situation," he said.

US negotiators travelled to Russia on Thursday to present their plan for a 30-day ceasefire in the Ukraine war.

Donald Trump warns Putin of financial consequences:

US President Donald Trump has warned his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin of "devastating" financial consequences if his government blocks Ukraine's call for a ceasefire in the Moscow-Kyiv war, media reports said.

Speaking at the White House, Trump on Wednesday said, "People are going to Russia right now as we speak and hopefully we can get a ceasefire from Russia and if we do, I think that would be 80 percent of the way to get this horrible blood bath finished."

Trump has warned Russia of economic sanctions if Putin continues with military offensive.

"I can do things financially that would be very bad for Russia. I don't want to do that because I want to get peace... But in a financial sense, we can do things very bad for Russia.

"It would be devastating for Russia but I don't want to do that because I want to see peace and we're getting close to maybe getting something done..," said the President.

Ukraine on Tuesday agreed to a US proposal for a 30-day general ceasefire with Russia, with Washington in turn promising to lift restrictions on military aid and intelligence sharing, a joint statement by the two sides said.

Following talks in Saudi Arabia, the two sides agreed to conclude "as soon as possible" a deal on Ukrainian minerals, the statement said.