Moscow has remained tight-lipped over the news that Ukraine has accepted a full 30-day ceasefire proposal during negotiations with the U.S. in Jeddah on March 11.
After the negotiations with Washington, Ukraine's Presidential Office announced that it was ready to accept the terms if Russia also complied with the agreement.
U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio later said the "ball is in (Russia's) court," adding if the Kremlin rejects the ceasefire proposal, "then we'll, unfortunately, know what the impediment is to peace here."
By the afternoon of March 12, the only thing close to an official Russian position on developments was an evasive answer from Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov when asked by journalists about the proposal.
"Look, you are getting a little ahead of yourselves. We don't want to do that," he said, explaining the topic must first be discussed with the American side.
Prominent Russian state TV propagandists are also uncharacteristically quiet on the topic. Vladimir Solovyov stuck to official reports coming out of the meeting during the day, while Olga Skabeyeva simply asked, "What would we get in return?"
But less constrained by the official Kremlin line, Russia's vibrant and vocal community of pro-war military bloggers, or milbloggers, were more forthcoming in their appraisal of the ceasefire proposal.
“Any ceasefire at this stage is pure treachery and sabotage," the milbogger channel Ngp Razvedka, which has almost 100,000 subscribers, said.
"The Ukrainian Armed Forces are holding on with their last strength, and it is possible to roll into Sumy on their shoulders," it added.
"After that, the war will continue in much worse conditions for us."
The theme of a ceasefire being an opportunity for Ukrainian forces to regroup and rearm was repeated by several other milbloggers — Two Majors, which has over 1.2 million subscribers, said the pause in fighting would allow them to "lick their wounds."
"The truce proposal is actually Minsk-3, which will give the Ukrainian Armed Forces an opportunity to strengthen and rearm," milblogger Yuriy Podolyaka, told his more than 3 million subscribers.
"After that, the war will continue in much worse conditions for us. Therefore, we will not agree, that much is obvious."
Some of the anger was also directed at U.S. President Donald Trump. Millblogger Vladislav Evtushenko, told his 10,000 subscribers that the "right thing to do would be to shoot the old man in the other ear," referencing the failed assassination attempt on Trump last year.
According to reports, Russia is unlikely to agree to the temporary truce, feeling it has the upper hand on the battlefield and viewing the ceasefire as a trap, Reuters reported on March 12, citing undisclosed Russian sources.
Any ceasefire agreement would have to take Russia's battlefield advances into account and provide "guarantees" to Moscow, sources told the news agency.
In the past, Russian President Vladimir Putin and other top officials have ruled out a temporary ceasefire that would freeze the conflict along the current front lines.
Russia continues to occupy roughly 20% of Ukraine's territory and made steady advances in Donetsk Oblast in late 2024.
While Russia's advance in Ukraine's east has reportedly stalled earlier this year, Moscow's troops seemed to have made rapid gains in Kursk Oblast, the Russian border region where Ukraine has been fighting since August 2024.
One source told Reuters that a ceasefire could weaken Russia's position, as the West could pin the blame on Moscow should it fail to end the war.
Andrea Januta
