According to Putin, Ukraine wants to limit the fighting to the Kherson, Zaporozhye, Donetsk and Luhansk regions, i.e. the regions that the Russians illegally annexed in September 2022 after falsified referendums.
“If we proceed with this, it will allow the Ukrainian armed forces to withdraw their troops from the Mykolaiv, Dnepropetrovsk, Kharkiv and Sumy regions, as well as from some sections of the state border, and move these troops to the four mentioned regions,” the letter quotes Putin, who expressed himself this way in an interview with the leading Kremlin propagandist Pavel Zarubin.
According to him, such a reduction in fighting could be a “salvation” for the Ukrainians in the conditions of a “catastrophic shortage” of personnel. “Rescuing the Kyiv regime is not part of our plans,” stated the head of the Kremlin, stating that the main task for the Russian army and for himself is “the final liberation of Donbass and Novorussk”.
In the interview, Putin further admitted that the Ukrainian attacks on Russian infrastructure “cause problems” that lead to a “certain shortage” of fuel. At the same time, however, he assured that “all damaged objects are being repaired relatively quickly” and that “everything is working stably” in Russia.
Even so, according to Putin, Ukraine proposed to abandon long-range strikes on both sides. “It is clear why this proposal is being presented, because our retaliatory strikes in the interior of Ukraine are stronger, more noticeable and, to put it bluntly, more destructive,” he said.
In recent months, Kiev has hit dozens of oil refineries, military plants and other objects of Russian infrastructure, while Moscow has mainly attacked civilian facilities where civilians have died.
Ukraine has proposed a cease-fire in various forms several times, but the Russians have always rejected it. Kyiv has previously agreed to the American plan for an unconditional ceasefire, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyi has also proposed direct negotiations with Putin several times.
