Vladimir Putin has said he is ready to negotiate directly with Volodymyr Zelensky, adding Russia wanted to end the war “as soon as possible”, preferably through peace talks. His remarks come in the wake of another brutal aerial attack on Kyiv, which left at least 28 people dead and injured over 100 people.
Russia has stepped up its attacks on Ukrainian cities, targeting civilian infrastructure as it seeks to break the public’s morale. The unrelenting and indiscriminate attacks have killed and injured scores of ordinary people and horrified the world.
Over the past months, the Kremlin tyrant repeatedly stalled attempts to reach a peace agreement, making unrealistic demands that Kyiv could never agree to, including giving up part of Ukraine’s internationally recognised territory. Moscow’s approach to ceasefire talks left US President Donald Trump fuming, who in late March said he was “very angry” at his Russian counterpart for attacking the credibility of the Ukrainian leader.
Some experts have previously argued the Russian president may simply be stalling for time, and has not changed his original war aims of achieving the total subjugation of Ukraine.
Yesterday, Putin announced his willingness to hold one-on-one talks with his Ukrainian counterpart, but only during a “final phase” of negotiations.
He told Russian state TV: “I am ready to meet with everyone, including Zelensky. That is not the issue. If the Ukrainian state trusts someone in particular to conduct negotiations, for God’s sake, it can be Zelensky.
“We don’t care who negotiates, even if it is the current head of the regime.”
However, Putin stressed he doesn’t recognise Mr Zelensky’s authority, suggesting the wartime leader had no right to sign a peace deal.
Speaking to the press during the ongoing St. Petersburg International Economic Forum, he also said: “We need to find a solution that would not only put an end to the current conflict, but also create conditions that would prevent similar situations from recurring in the long term.”
Previously, the Kremlin boss refused a direct meeting and has adopted an ambigious approach to peace negotiations, sending low level delegations headed by former culture minister Vladimir Medinsky.
Russia has launched a large offensive in Ukraine’s northeastern province of Sumy in recent weeks, having amassed an army of around 50,000 on its border with the region.
However, in recent days the number of attacks has decreased, according to Andriy Demchenko, a spokesman for Ukraine’s Border Service.
He suggested the reason for this was most likely the high number of casualties the Russians were suffering.
Overall, Putin’s army continues to sustain huge casualties on the battlefield, as it seeks to make a decisive breakthrough.
Latest figures from Ukraine’s army suggest the Russians have suffered more than one million casualties (1,008,240) – this includes both killed and injured.