June 05, 2026
President Vladimir Putin stuck to his hardline stance on the war in Ukraine on Thursday and said his troops were advancing on the battlefield every day, but he also said that US President Donald Trump's proposals for peace could end the fighting if Kyiv was ready to compromise.
He made his comments to foreign media editors, including Reuters, on the sidelines of Russia's showcase annual economic forum as Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky published an open letter to Putin in which he proposed the two leaders meet to agree on an end to the war, warning that Kyiv stood ready to fight on otherwise.
Putin's spokesman said the Kremlin chief was aware of the message, but had not yet had a chance to familiarise himself with its contents in detail. Trump said it would be great if the two leaders met.
Speaking in what is the fifth year of Europe's deadliest land war since World War Two, a conflict that Russia — one of the world's biggest military superpowers — thought it would win quickly, Putin said that manpower, industrial resources and will power were on Russia's side. His army had "recently" pushed Ukrainian forces out of nearly 2,500km (1,553 miles) of territory, he said, though he conceded that Moscow had to and would improve its air defences to contend with a growing threat from Ukrainian drones.
