Vladimir Putin has said he believes the war in Ukraine is winding down, even as two of his senior aides downplayed the notion of a quick resolution to the conflict. Speaking hours after Moscow's most scaled-back Victory Day parade in years, Putin vowed to defeat Ukraine but suggested that the end of hostilities might be near.
Putin's Stance on Negotiations
"I think that the matter is coming to an end," Putin said of Europe's deadliest conflict since World War II. He expressed willingness to negotiate new security arrangements for Europe and named former German Chancellor Gerhard Schröder as his preferred negotiating partner—a choice unlikely to be accepted in Ukraine or the European Union.
Putin also stated he is ready to meet Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy in a third country once all conditions for a potential peace agreement are settled, emphasizing that such a meeting should be "the final point, not the negotiations themselves."
Kremlin Aides Temper Expectations
However, Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov said this weekend that reaching a peace agreement on Ukraine would take a long time. "It is clear that the American side is in a hurry, but the issue of a Ukrainian settlement is too complex, and reaching a peace agreement is a very long road with many complicated details," Peskov noted.
Kremlin aide Yuri Ushakov added that negotiations would "probably resume," but the timeline remains unclear. He told Russian media that Moscow sees no basis for new trilateral talks with Ukraine and the US until Ukrainian forces withdraw from the Donetsk region—a condition Kyiv has rejected.
European Perspective
European Council President António Costa expressed belief in the potential for EU negotiations with Russia regarding the future of Europe's security architecture. Meanwhile, many in Ukraine and Europe remain skeptical of involving Schröder, given his close ties to Putin and Russian business interests, including the Nord Stream gas pipelines.
Continued Hostilities
Despite a US-brokered three-day ceasefire announced on the eve of the Moscow parade, Ukrainian officials reported Russian drone strikes and nearly 150 battlefield clashes over the past 24 hours. Russia's defense ministry claimed to have shot down 57 Ukrainian drones. On Saturday, Moscow was under heavy security, with internet services shut down, as Ukraine continued long-range drone and missile strikes that forced parade organizers to strip the event of its usual pageantry.
In Ukraine, one person was killed and three wounded in Russian strikes on the Zaporizhzhia region. In Kharkiv, eight people including two children were wounded by drone attacks. Seven people, including a child, were injured in Kherson, and infrastructure was damaged in Dnipropetrovsk.
War Fatigue and Stalemate
With no victory in sight and no timeline for an end, the mood in Russia is souring. Russian troops are near a standstill, with neither side appearing close to a breakthrough. Advances have slowed, both armies showing exhaustion and sustaining heavy casualties while striking each other's energy infrastructure. Putin faces growing anxiety about the war, which has killed hundreds of thousands, devastated Ukraine, and strained Russia's economy. Relations with Europe are at their worst since the Cold War.
Russian forces have not captured the entire Donbas region, where Ukrainian forces hold fortress cities. Moscow controls just under one-fifth of Ukrainian territory. On Saturday, Putin criticized Western support for Kyiv, claiming the West expected Russia's collapse but failed. "They got stuck in that groove and now can't get out of it," he said.
Zelenskyy observed Europe Day, calling Ukraine an "inseparable part of the European family."
