During the talks, Lukashenko claimed that Russia’s Kursk Oblast would be "completely liberated in just a few days." He also asserted that the United States has "no solution" for Russia’s war against Ukraine.

Russian President Vladimir Putin visited a command center in Kursk on Wednesday, ordering troops there to "destroy" all Ukrainian formations.

Ukraine's military denies the encirclement of its forces in Kursk, after Trump asks Putin to spare the lives of thousands "surrounded" by Russia's military.

Russia’s president appeared to hedge his bets on the issue of a Ukrainian ceasefire, saying it was a good idea but refusing to implement it, for now. That keeps the dialogue open with Donald Trump, but it means the war continues.

Speaking a day later alongside Belarusian leader Alexander Lukashenko — who brokered two failed processes to end Putin’s initial invasion of Ukraine a decade ago — the Russian president said any ceasefire would simply let Kyiv’s forces regroup just as Moscow is close to driving them out of Kursk.