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.

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.