Moscow: An envoy of US President Donald Trump arrived Thursday in Moscow for talks on an American-proposed 30-day ceasefire that Ukraine has accepted, but a senior Russian official said the truce would only help Kyiv by giving its weary and shorthanded military a break.

The diplomatic effort coincided with a Russian claim that its troops have driven the Ukrainian army out of a key town in Russia's Kursk border region, where Moscow has been trying for seven months to dislodge Ukrainian troops from their foothold. A US official confirmed the arrival of Trump's special envoy, Steve Witkoff.

The official spoke on the condition of anonymity because they were not authorised to comment on the matter. The Russian Defence Ministry's claim that it recaptured the town of Sudzha came hours after Putin visited his commanders in Kursk.