Russia’s head of state Vladimir Putin At his annual press conference, he dampened expectations of a peace solution to Russia’s war against Ukraine. Putin said in the televised program that he saw no willingness on Ukraine’s part to do so Direct line. Putin traditionally combines his annual press conference with a kind of TV public consultation in which he sometimes answers questions submitted by citizens for hours.
This year’s program was heavily dominated by war topics right from the start. “Our troops are advancing along the entire line of contact,” Putin said of the situation on the front as the Ukraine retreat in all directions. Putin pointed out that Russian troops have been permanently on the offensive for more than a year. While this statement corresponds to the facts, the Russian president exaggerated his portrayal of the situation the successes of his army in Ukraine.
Putin describes contested cities as already conquered
Putin spoke to an officer in the audience who is said to have been involved in the Russian attack on the Ukrainian city of Siversk. This was presented in the conversation as completely conquered, whereas, according to international observers, it is only largely so. The same applies to the city of Vovchansk in the north of the Kharkiv region, which Putin also described as conquered. A large part of the city, which has now been almost completely destroyed, has been under construction since the summer of 2024 Russia controlled, but Vovchansk has not yet been completely conquered.
In the case of the city of Kupyansk in the same region from which Russian troops have recently been largely driven out, Putin made similar statements – and in the process made fun of the Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelensky funny. He recorded a video message on the outskirts of the city last Fridaybelieved to be less than two kilometers from Russian-controlled parts of Kupyansk. The Ukrainian military had previously reported successes in weeks of counterattacks in the region and spoke of liberating around 90 percent of the city.
Putin to Zelensky: “Come into the house”
Zelensky is a “talented artist,” said Putin, referring to the Ukrainian leader’s stage past, suggesting that the video of the Ukrainian leader in Kupyansk is a production. Referring to the place where Zelensky recorded the video – a spot at the southwestern entrance to Kupiansk – Putin continued: “Why should you stand at the doorstep? Come in the house.”
In his video message last Friday, Zelenskyj demonstratively questioned Russian claims that Kupyansk had been completely captured. Putin critics, some within the Russian armed forces, regularly accuse the Russian president of rarely appearing near the front.
Currently Ukraine, the USA and leading EU countries are negotiating a joint ceasefire offer to Russiawhich should be supported by both Ukraine and its European supporters and the US government. Among other things, previous drafts provide for security guarantees for Ukraine and a demilitarized zone in the north of the heavily contested Donetsk region. However, both Putin and other Russian representatives, including presidential foreign policy advisor Yuri Ushakov, recently signaled that they wanted to insist on the original war goals. Putin also threatened to conquer further regions.
