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Vladimir Putin rejected this Thursday a potential ceasefire in Ukraine and argued that Russia can negotiate peace while continuing to fight, during a meeting with representatives from major global news agencies held at the Konstantin Palace, on the outskirts of St. Petersburg.
"To begin negotiations, there is no need to cease military actions," the Russian leader stated during the St. Petersburg International Economic Forum, one day after Ukraine attacked the oil terminal and naval base in Kronstadt in the same city.
Putin argued that it is Ukraine that seeks a truce because the Russian Army is advancing on all fronts, although both Kiev and Western analysts believe that Moscow has barely gained any ground in the last six months.
"Russian forces are advancing every day, gaining control of new localities. In the Zaporiyia region, we advance several kilometers each day. Of course, it’s better to stop this," he said, arguing that it should be Kyiv, not Moscow, seeking a ceasefire.
The Russian leader estimated that 2,500 square kilometers have recently been occupied by his forces, reported 40,000 monthly Ukrainian casualties — the same figure that Western intelligence attributes to Russian troops — and noted that Ukraine has about 20,000 deserters each month.
Regarding the conditions for peace, Putin reiterated that Russia is willing to negotiate based on the agreements explored at the Anchorage summit with Donald Trump in August 2025, which include the demand for Ukraine to withdraw its troops from Donbas, a condition that Kiev rejects as a red line.
"Better to stop the war by accepting the compromises that were discussed in Anchorage," he noted.
Putin also urged the European Union to stop supplying weapons to Kiev and to pressure Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky to accept those conditions.
"The EU could play a positive role, but not with weapon supplies, rather by attempting to persuade the authorities in Kiev to accept the commitments we discussed in Anchorage," he said.
The Russian leader also suggested that the Ukrainian authorities have no real interest in peace: "If peace is achieved, the political struggle, the fight for power in Kyiv, and the economic situation will intensify. My impression is that, in reality, the authorities are not interested in a genuine cessation of military actions."
However, he emphasized that if Zelensky accepts the commitments from Anchorage, "the conflict would quickly come to its natural conclusion."
At another point in the meeting, Putin accused the West of supplying "a large number of drones of various types, including long-range ones," to Ukraine, admitting that some manage to bypass Russian air defenses.
He also described the accusations that Russia plans to attack NATO as a "deliberate provocation," linking them to Western interests in increasing military spending: "This is nonsense, but not only that; it is a deliberate provocation to create a threat that does not actually exist."
Putin's statements come at a time of increasing diplomatic pressure. The Secretary of State Marco Rubio warned on May 26 that the war "has already lasted longer than World War II and needs to come to an end," and that Washington is ready to facilitate that outcome.
According to polls cited by EFE, Putin has experienced the largest drop in popularity in the last three months since the beginning of the war in 2022, attributed to internet outages, economic contraction, and public fatigue with the conflict.
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