WASHINGTON — US President Donald Trump said Wednesday that negotiators were headed to Russia "right now" for talks on a possible ceasefire with Ukraine, after Kyiv agreed to a 30-day truce.

 

Trump did not give further details on the negotiating team.

 

"People are going to Russia right now as we speak. And hopefully we can get a ceasefire from Russia," Trump told reporters in the Oval Office during a meeting with Ireland's prime minister.

 

"And if we do, I think that would be 80 percent of the way to getting this horrible bloodbath finished."

 

Vice President JD Vance, who was also in the meeting, added that there were "conversations that are happening on the phone and in person with some of our representatives over the next couple of days."

 

Trump would not say when he would next speak to his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin, but added that "I hope he's going to have a ceasefire" and that there had been "positive messages" from Moscow.

 

"It's up to Russia now," said Trump.

 

Trump was coy about pressuring Moscow to agree to a truce, saying he could slap it with "devastating" sanctions but adding that "I hope that's not going to be necessary."

 

"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," Trump added.

 

His comments come less than two weeks after an explosive row between Trump, Vance and Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelensky in the Oval Office in front of television cameras.

 

Trump halted military aid after the argument to pressure Kyiv, which agreed to a US-proposed plan for a 30-day ceasefire at talks in Saudi Arabia on Tuesday.

 

Meanwhile, President Vladimir Putin on Wednesday ordered his army to "fully liberate" Russia's Kursk region, after days of pushing back Ukrainian troops that have held territory there since August.

 

"I am counting on the fact that all the combat tasks facing our units will fulfilled, and the territory of the Kursk region will soon be completely liberated from the enemy," Putin said in televised remarks during a visit to Russian troops fighting there.

 

Ukraine's army chief hinted on Wednesday that some of his troops were pulling back in Russia's Kursk region, after Moscow claimed rapid advances there over recent days.

 

"In the most difficult situation, my priority has been and remains saving the lives of Ukrainian soldiers. To this end, the units of the defence forces, if necessary, manoeuvre to more favourable positions," commander-in-chief Oleksandr Syrsky said in a Facebook post, in language typically used to describe a withdrawal.