Russia would be willing to stop hitting civilian targets, the Russian President said, if the sides could agree on which targets were fair game.
Ukraine and Russia have not negotiated directly since the early weeks of the invasion in 2022.
Volodymyr Zelensky and Donald Trump in a tense meeting in the Oval Office in February. The confrontation showed how rocky US-Ukrainian relations had become (Photo: Andrew Harnik/Getty)
Had he really dropped that red line? There are reasons to do so; Russia is under tremendous pressure from US President Donald Trump to make a deal.
“I think it is cynical – typical Putin,” said Stephen Hall, a Russian and Post-Soviet Politics lecturer at the University of Bath.
Callum Fraser, a research fellow in Russia and Eurasian Studies at the Royal United Services Institute think-tank, said: “The Kremlin has attempted to position itself as a proponent of peace whilst conversely making Kyiv appear belligerent.
With Trump pushing both sides to reach a deal fast, Putin could reasonably conclude that this is his best chance to end a costly war on terms which favour him.
“Spinning the negotiations out benefits the Russians – Putin believes Trump is more likely to kick the Ukrainians than he will Russia,” Hall said.
European and Ukrainian leaders stand in front of bodies from a mass grave in Bucha, Ukraine in April 2022 (Photo: Valentyn Ogirenko/Reuters)It might point to the way Putin has always claimed to wage a humanitarian war despite the abundant evidence of homes, hospitals, schools and playgrounds blanketed by Russian bombs.
square RUSSIA-UKRAINE WAR Putin proposes direct peace talks with Ukraine
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Russia dismisses those killings as a hoax, a common response when confronted with evidence of apparent war crimes.
“Putin is winning the war,” Professor Hall told The i Paper. “The economy is entirely beholden on retaining the military expenditure, and Putin can outlast the Ukrainians; he has more men and materiel.”
There are still visible efforts afoot. The UK is hosting talks between Ukraine’s allies on Wednesday that will feature Kyiv’s representatives alongside British, US and French officials.
But with no outward signs of a breakthrough, those watching, especially in Ukraine itself, will likely stay wary.
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