Vladimir Putin claims he wants to make a ‘compromise’ with Ukraine and its Western allies in a bid to end the conflict.
Yesterday, the Russian president suggested in a TV speech that peace talks could begin without preconditions.
His comments raised hopes that the war, which has killed more than a million, could end in 2025.
President Putin said Russia needs a ‘long-lasting peace’ rather than a temporary truce that ‘the enemy would allow’ [Ukraine] to resupply’. He said: “Ukraine is running out of military equipment, the enemy is unable to hold its positions.”
Putin added that while Volodymyr Zelensky is ready for negotiations, he should stand as a candidate because he was not the legitimate authority in Ukraine.
He said, ‘That’s it [Ukraine’s] The Constitution does not allow the extension of the president’s mandate even under martial law.”
Since Zelensky’s presidential term ended in May, the Ukrainian government has promised to hold elections immediately after the war.
Putin added that the talks should be based on “the reality on the front” – meaning the Kremlin would keep the territory it has acquired in eastern Ukraine in recent months.
He said: “We have always said that we are ready for negotiations and compromises and that we are in a strong position. Soon we will run out of Ukrainians willing to fight. Soon there will be no one left to fight.’
Ukraine’s manpower shortage has been identified by Western officials as the country’s biggest security challenge.
Russian President Vladimir Putin suggested peace talks could begin without preconditions
However, he called for elections in Ukraine and said Volodymyr Zelensky (pictured) was not the legitimate authority
Ukrainian soldiers fire a howitzer at Russian positions near the front line in Khasiv Yar, Donetsk
Russia, on the other hand, has managed to replace the approximately 10,000 troops it loses as casualties every week.
The Kremlin wants to annex four Ukrainian regions to Russia. Western-backed Ukrainian forces are losing territory in these areas, strengthening Putin’s position.
President Zelensky’s only bargaining chip is the 500 square kilometer area occupied by Ukrainian forces in the southern Russian province of Kursk.
In a wide-ranging question-and-answer session broadcast live on state television, Putin claimed he should have sent troops to Ukraine earlier than February 2022.
He also said Russia should have been better prepared for the conflict – Kremlin defense chiefs had wrongly predicted they could take Ukraine within days.
Russian T-72 tanks drive during military exercises on a firing range during the conflict between Russia and Ukraine, in the southern Krasnodar region, Russia, December 2, 2024
Ukrainian soldiers from the 43rd Artillery Brigade fire a 2S7 Pion self-propelled gun at Russian positions on a front line in the Donetsk region
The failure led to a purge of senior military and intelligence officials in Moscow.
Putin also said he could fire another hypersonic Oreshnik missile at Ukraine to test Western air defense systems – which failed to intercept the missile fired last month.
Last night, Western officials suggested that Putin still intends to achieve his pre-war goals, including the subjugation of all of Ukraine.
They cast doubt on any suggestion that Putin might be willing to reach a fair deal or recognize Ukrainian sovereignty.