WASHINGTON—President Trump finds himself a “yes” away from brokering a cease-fire between Russia and Ukraine. But it is Russian President Vladimir Putin who has to say it, and he is leaning in the other direction.

An attack is sprung by Russian soldiers who donned gas masks and crawled for three days through a pipeline to surprise the Ukrainians south of Sudzha.

Russian President Vladimir Putin visited soldiers in the embattled Kursk region, where Russian troops have pushed Ukrainian forces from the territory they had occupied for weeks. NBC News’ Matt Bodner explains what the show of strength from Putin could mean for peace negotiations between the U.