Moscow will continue its advance until it fully occupies the four Ukrainian regions it has annexed in the Donbas, stressed Vladimir Putin, rejecting the Ukrainian proposal for a partial de-escalation of the conflict, which is now in its fifth year.

Speaking on Russian state television, the Russian president stated that Ukraine had proposed a mutual suspension of long-range attacks as a first step toward reducing tensions.

However, as he argued, Moscow believes that the proposal is intended to ease the pressure on Ukrainian forces along the front line, which is approximately 1,250 kilometers long.

“It’s clear why this proposal is being made, because our retaliatory strikes deep inside Ukrainian territory are much more powerful, have a greater impact, and, frankly, are more devastating,” he said.

The Russian president also claimed that Kyiv’s initiative reflects a “catastrophic shortage of manpower” in the Ukrainian armed forces and argued that any cessation of hostilities would give Ukraine time to regroup. “Saving the regime in Kyiv is not part of our plans,” he added.

“Complete liberation” of four regions

Putin argued that the Ukrainian attacks are intended to divert Russia’s attention and resources from its “main objectives,” which he described as the “complete liberation of Donbas and Novorossiya.”

By this term, he referred to the Ukrainian regions of Donetsk, Luhansk, Zaporizhzhia, and Kherson, which Russia partially occupies and announced it would annex in 2022.

He acknowledged problems caused by Ukrainian drones

The Russian president also acknowledged that Ukrainian drone attacks on Russian territory, particularly against energy infrastructure, are causing problems, including fuel shortages in certain regions of the country. As he said, he discussed the issue earlier on Sunday during a meeting at the Kremlin with ministers from his government.

Despite the problems, he insisted that the situation is “under control” and that measures are being taken to address it.

“The top priority is to rapidly and significantly increase production of the most essential air defense systems,” he said, adding that Russia must strengthen the protection of critical infrastructure.

At the same time, he maintained that Ukrainian attacks do not affect military operations on the front lines. “All strikes, no matter where they hit our infrastructure, have absolutely no impact on the situation at the front or along the line of contact,” he said.

Reference to new diplomatic initiatives

Putin also stated that Russia expects a possible resumption of U.S. diplomatic efforts as soon as, as he put it, the “hot phase” of the crisis involving Iran subsides. At the same time, he left open the possibility of new contacts with U.S. envoys.

According to him, “certain possibilities” for ending the war had been discussed in previous talks with Washington, though no formal agreement had been signed.

The Russian president also noted that the president of Belarus, Alexander Lukashenko, could play a role in potential peace talks.

He once again rejected Zelenskyy’s request for a meeting

The Ukrainian proposal is yet another effort by Kyiv to bring Russia to the negotiating table and end the war.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has repeatedly called for direct talks with Putin.

On June 4, he sent an open letter requesting a face-to-face meeting, while also inviting him to meet on the sidelines of the G7 Summit to discuss ending the war.

Putin once again rejected this possibility, reiterating what he had stated at the St. Petersburg International Economic Forum, where he described an immediate meeting with Zelensky “pointless.”