‘Saving Kyiv Regime Is Not Our Plan’: Putin Rejects Ukraine Proposal To Limit Long-Range Strikes

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.

“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.

Other Topics of Interest

Not Peace Talks – Victory Talks

Russia has already lost this war and Vladimir Putin stands at the lip of the trash heap reserved for history’s loser autocrats. The push that sends him over it will come from his own.

“The first task is to quickly and significantly ramp up production of those air defence systems that are most needed,” he said, adding that Russia must strengthen protection of critical infrastructure.

At the same time, Putin insisted that damage from Ukrainian strikes has no impact on battlefield dynamics. “All the strikes, wherever they hit our infrastructure, absolutely do not affect the situation on the front, on the line of combat contact,” he said.

He also said Russia expects a possible resumption of US-led diplomatic efforts once what he called the “hot phase” of the Iran-related crisis subsides, and suggested further engagement with US envoys Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner.

Putin added that earlier discussions with Washington had explored “certain possibilities” for ending the war, though no formal agreements were signed. He also suggested Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko could play a role in potential peace talks.

The reported Ukrainian proposal is the latest in Kyiv’s attempts to push Russia into peace negotiations and bring an end to the war, now stretching into its fifth year.

President Volodymyr Zelensky has repeatedly pushed for direct talks with Putin, including in an open letter on June 4 calling for a face-to-face meeting and an invitation to meet on the sidelines of the G7 summit to discuss ending the war.

Putin dismissed the idea of immediate talks, saying at the St. Petersburg International Economic Forum that such a meeting was “pointless.”