The leaked American ceasefire proposal would end sanctions on Russia, freeze the front line and see America formally recognise Russia’s annexation of Crimea. The intelligence officer, based in Kyiv, does not hide his disdain.

Russian President Vladimir Putin has claimed that his country has regained control of Kursk, the border region where Ukraine launched a surprise offensive last year, though Ukraine’s army says fighting continues.

All Ukrainian troops have been forced from parts of Russia’s Kursk region, which Moscow lost control of last year to a surprise Ukrainian incursion, Russia’s top general said in a Kremlin meeting Satu