St. Petersburg, Russia. President Vladimir Putin said on Thursday that proposals by U.S. President Donald Trump for peace in Ukraine could end the fighting, but that Kyiv would need to compromise and that he saw no sign of that, leaving Russia ready to continue the war until victory.
He said Russia was prepared to end the conflict through diplomacy, but would defeat Ukraine on the battlefield if necessary.
Putin outlines conditions for ending the war
Speaking to foreign media editors on the sidelines of Russia’s annual economic forum, Putin said the war could end if Ukraine accepted compromises he said had been discussed with Trump at a summit in Alaska last year.
Putin said Russia would honour those unspecified compromises, but that Ukraine would also have to agree to them for the conflict to conclude.
“We are certainly prepared and willing to reach an agreement with Ukraine through peaceful means. Specifically, on the basis we discussed during our meeting with President Trump in Anchorage. Russia agrees to those compromises we discussed in Anchorage. The Ukrainian side must also agree to these compromises. Then the conflict will quickly come to a natural conclusion,” Putin said.
Territorial demands remain unchanged
Putin gave no indication of changing his position that Ukraine must surrender the remainder of the eastern Donbas region for the war to end, a demand Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy has rejected as equivalent to capitulation.
He said Russian forces were continuing their offensive every day and stated that Russia had full control of the Luhansk People’s Republic and more than 85% of the Donetsk People’s Republic.
Putin was referring to two of the four Ukrainian regions that Moscow claimed as its own in 2022, a move rejected by Kyiv and most Western countries as an illegal land grab.
Putin says Russia’s position is strengthening
Putin said Russia’s resources for waging and winning the war were increasing and that it had weapons Ukraine did not possess.
He acknowledged that Moscow needed to improve its protection against Ukrainian drones, but said he believed time was on Russia’s side and that Ukraine did not have sufficient manpower to prevail.
“And there is one more thing that is of paramount importance: the patriotism and resolve of the Russian people, which are essential to achieving the objectives and tasks of the special military operation,” Putin said, using Russia’s term for the war.
Comments on Oreshnik missile
Putin said Russia had not yet used its Oreshnik hypersonic missile against Ukraine in real combat conditions, and had only test-fired it to assess the results before deciding on future full-scale use, including against urban targets.
The Oreshnik, first fired by Russia against Ukraine in 2024, is a nuclear-capable missile with a range of more than 5,000 km. Putin has previously said it is impossible to intercept, although Western experts have questioned that claim.
