(NewsNation) — As Ukraine agrees to a 30-day ceasefire proposal brokered by the United States, experts remain skeptical Russian President Vladimir Putin will reciprocate without adding demands that could derail peace efforts.
“Putin does not want a ceasefire. He wants to take more Ukrainian territory,” John Herbst, former U.S. ambassador to Ukraine, told NewsNation Tuesday following the announcement of the agreement reached in Saudi Arabia.
President Donald Trump’s administration announced it would immediately resume military aid and intelligence sharing with Ukraine after the ceasefire agreement, reversing a controversial freeze implemented in late February.
Secretary of State Marco Rubio said, “The ball is now in Russia’s court,” but military experts caution against optimism.
“He could agree to a ceasefire but then continue to fight,” said retired Gen. Wesley Clark, former NATO supreme allied commander. “There could always be accusations of provocations by Ukraine. There’s no one to monitor the ceasefire.”
‘Lot of games’ until Putin agrees to ceasefire deal: Ex-NATO commander
Clark outlined several potential scenarios where Putin might undermine the agreement, including demanding substantial Ukrainian territorial concessions or using the pause to rebuild Russian forces.
“He could say ‘yes’ and then put some really tough demands on the table, like Ukraine expected to give up the rest of these oblasts provinces,” Clark said.
The ceasefire announcement comes after Ukraine launched its largest drone attack of the conflict, with approximately 90 drones targeting Moscow, reportedly killing three people.
Trump’s Middle East envoy, Steve Witkoff, is expected to travel to Russia in the coming days to present the ceasefire proposal to Putin.
Trump said he hoped that an agreement could be solidified “over the next few days.”
“I’ve been saying that Russia’s been easier to deal with so far than Ukraine, which is not supposed to be the way it is,” Trump said later Tuesday. “But it is, and we hope to get Russia. But we have a full ceasefire from Ukraine. That’s good.”
Herbst suggested Putin may try to “probe some Ukrainian weak spots during the ceasefire period” to test American resolve in enforcing the agreement’s terms.
“The United States can push back on this,” Clark said, noting that sanctions relief could be a powerful bargaining chip. “The question is, will we do so?”
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
