President Vladimir Putin said on Sunday that Russia will continue pushing to fully capture four Ukrainian regions, rejecting what he described as a Ukrainian proposal to scale back hostilities in the more than four-year war.
Speaking to a Russian state television interviewer, Putin said Ukraine had suggested a mutual halt to long-range strikes as a step toward de-escalation. Moscow, he argued, sees the idea as an attempt to ease pressure on Ukrainian forces along the 1,250-km front line.
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“It is clear why this proposal is being made, because our counter-strikes deep into Ukrainian territory are much stronger, have greater impact and are, frankly, more destructive,” he said.
Putin claimed the initiative reflected Ukraine’s “catastrophic shortage” of manpower and said any pause would effectively allow Kyiv to regroup. “But saving the Kyiv regime is not part of our plans,” he added.
He said Ukrainian strikes are aimed at diverting Russian attention and resources away from what he called the “main objectives” – the “complete liberation of Donbas and Novorossiya,” referring to Donetsk, Luhansk, Zaporizhzhia and Kherson regions, which Russia partially occupies and annexed in 2022.
Putin also acknowledged that Ukrainian drone strikes on Russian territory – particularly targeting the energy sector – are causing disruption, including fuel shortages in several regions. He said he raised the issue at a Kremlin meeting with ministers earlier on Sunday, but insisted the situation was “under control” and being managed.
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