Photo credit: ReutersRussian President Vladimir Putin has ruled out any pause in Russia's military campaign in Ukraine, rejecting Kyiv's proposal for a mutual halt to long-range strikes and reaffirming that Moscow will continue fighting until it achieves what he described as the "complete liberation" of Donbas and Novorossiya.Speaking in an interview with Russian state television on Sunday, Putin said that suspending long-range attacks would only allow Ukraine to regroup and strengthen its military."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," Putin said.He added that Ukraine's proposal reflected growing pressure on its armed forces."Given their catastrophic shortage of personnel, the Ukrainian Armed Forces apparently believe this could be their salvation. But saving the Kyiv regime is not part of our plans."Putin reiterated that Russia remained committed to securing full control over Donbas and Novorossiya, referring to the Donetsk and Luhansk regions, along with the partially occupied Zaporizhzhia and Kherson regions that Moscow annexed in 2022.His remarks underscore the Kremlin's continued insistence that any future peace settlement must be based on Russia's territorial objectives rather than interim ceasefire proposals.The comments come as Ukraine has intensified long-range drone and missile strikes on Russian territory, particularly targeting oil and energy infrastructure.Putin acknowledged that the attacks had disrupted fuel supplies in several regions, prompting the Kremlin to convene an emergency meeting on fuel supply and distribution.Addressing senior officials, he said the government must minimise the impact of Ukrainian drone attacks on oil facilities and expressed concern over queues at petrol stations in several parts of Russia.He also said the government was considering a temporary ban on diesel exports to stabilise domestic supplies and ensure adequate fuel availability for the agricultural sector during the harvest season."We need to make every effort to ensure that all seasonal fuel supply schedules are maintained for agro-industrial enterprises, because the harvest depends on it," Putin said.Earlier, Russian deputy prime minister Alexander Novak had said there was no need for Russia to ban diesel exports.Putin also called for a significant increase in the production of air defence systems and missiles to better protect critical infrastructure from Ukrainian attacks."The first task is to quickly and significantly ramp up production of those air defence systems that are most needed," he said.Despite acknowledging the attacks on Russian infrastructure, Putin insisted they had not affected battlefield operations."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.While rejecting Kyiv's latest proposal to reduce hostilities, Putin indicated that Moscow remained open to diplomatic engagement with Washington.He said Russia expected talks with the United States to resume once US envoys Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner concluded their involvement in diplomatic efforts related to the recent US-Israeli conflict with Iran.Putin said previous discussions with Washington had explored "certain possibilities" for ending the war, although no formal agreements had been reached. He also suggested Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko could play a role in any future peace negotiations.The latest remarks come as diplomatic efforts to end the war remain stalled, with Kyiv continuing to push for direct negotiations while Moscow maintains that any settlement must reflect its military objectives on the battlefield.