Russian President Vladimir Putin claimed that Russia allegedly holds the initiative on the front line and hinted that it could “finish off” Ukrainian forces.
Speaking during the International Arctic Forum in Murmansk, Russia on March 27 he put forward a possible scenario to end the war: the establishment of a transitional administration in Ukraine under the auspices of the UN, the US, European countries, and Russia’s partners – mentioning BRICS members and North Korea.
“We could, of course, discuss with the United States, even with European countries, and of course with our partners and friends, under the auspices of the UN, the possibility of establishing a transitional administration in Ukraine,” Putin said.
According to him, such a government would organize “democratic elections,” bring to power a “legitimate leadership” that enjoys the trust of the people, and only then would Moscow begin peace negotiations. He justified this idea by once more claiming that the current Ukrainian government is illegitimate.
Putin stated that only with such a government could internationally recognized agreements be signed. At the same time, he emphasized that this is just one of several possible models, and that similar solutions led by the UN have previously existed.
“It’s unclear for Russia who to sign anything with in Ukraine, because tomorrow there might be different leaders,” Putin said.
He noted that Ukrainian presidential elections that were (in normal times) scheduled for last year were not held because of the war. Therefore, in his view, Volodymyr Zelensky cannot be considered the legitimate head of state.
“If he himself is illegitimate, then everyone else is too,” he said. According to Putin, under these circumstances, Ukraine is being run by “neo-Nazi formations” – such as “Azov.”
He also claimed that Russian forces hold the advantage along the entire front line and said: “There is every reason to believe that we will finish them off.”
According to him, the Russian army has captured 99% of the Luhansk region, as well as more than 70% of the territories of the Donetsk, Zaporizhzhia, and Kherson regions.
Russia is “gradually, not as fast as some would like,” moving toward achieving the stated goals of its military operation, and the Ukrainian people should realize that Russian forces are “gaining momentum and operating with increasing effectiveness,” Putin claimed.
His comments came shortly after Ukraine’s European allies met with Zelensky in Paris on Thursday. Following the summit, French President Emmanuel Macron said that France and the UK were proposing the deployment of a “reassurance force” for Ukraine once the fighting ends.
Ukrainian presidential communications advisor Dmytro Lytvyn reacted sharply on X to the Russian proposal for a transitional administration, writing that Putin needed to take some pills to kickstart his brain activity.
“If Putin is once again struggling to understand who he needs to engage with to seriously move toward ending this war, maybe he should just pop some pills to kickstart his brain activity – assuming such pills still have any effect on him,” Lytvyn wrote before adding:
“By the way, in just the past 24 hours, there have already been at least two confirmed Russian strikes that damaged Ukraine’s energy infrastructure and that’s without even having the full reports for the day yet.”
A representative for the US National Security Council commented on Putin’s proposal in a statement to Reuters, in which they acknowledged that Ukraine’s governance is determined by its constitution and the will of its people.
No further official comments had been made by the White House or other members of the administration at the time of publication.
Russia is currently in direct talks with the US, which is attempting to broker a ceasefire between Moscow and Kyiv after more than three years of full-scale fighting, while European countries have met with Zelensky to agree on a coordinated policy.