Putin says Russia-Ukraine war ‘heading to an end’

Russian President Vladimir Putin has said he believes the war between Russia and Ukraine is “heading to an end,” even as both countries continue to accuse each other of violating a temporary ceasefire.

 

Putin made the remarks on Saturday while speaking to journalists after events commemorating the 81st anniversary of the Soviet Union’s victory in World War II.

 

His comments came as Russia and Ukraine began a three-day ceasefire and agreed to exchange 1,000 prisoners.

 

“And they started ratcheting up the confrontation with Russia, which continues to this day. I think it (the war) is heading to an end, but it’s still a serious matter,” Putin said.

 

He criticised Western support for Ukraine, claiming some countries had expected Russia to collapse under the pressure of the war.

 

“They spent months waiting for Russia to suffer a crushing defeat, for its statehood to collapse. It didn’t work out. And then they got stuck in that groove and now they can’t get out of it,” he added.

 

Putin also accused Ukraine of delaying a proposed prisoner-of-war exchange initiated by Russia earlier this month.

 

“As early as May 5, we conveyed to the Ukrainian side a proposal on a POW exchange and sent a list of 500 Ukrainian servicemen currently held in Russia,” he said.

 

According to him, Ukraine initially requested more time to review the list before later indicating it was not ready for the exchange.

 

The Russian leader said Moscow later welcomed a similar proposal reportedly backed by US President Donald Trump and extended the ceasefire by two additional days in the hope that the exchange would proceed.

 

Putin further stated that he was open to holding talks with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky but insisted that such a meeting should only happen after meaningful progress had been made toward a long-term peace agreement.

 

“As for Zelensky’s proposal for a personal meeting — sure, let whoever wants to meet come to Moscow,” he said.

 

“A meeting can also take place in a third country, but only once final agreements have been reached on a peace treaty designed for a long-term historical perspective.”

 

He maintained that the conflict was primarily between Russia and Ukraine, while acknowledging efforts by the United States to facilitate peace talks.

 

“The conflict primarily concerns Russia and Ukraine. If others want to help — and we can see that the current US Administration and the US President sincerely seek a settlement — we can only be grateful,” Putin stated.

 

Russia launched its full-scale invasion of Ukraine on February 24, 2022, escalating tensions that had existed between both countries since 2014.