Russian leader says Moscow is open to negotiations but will first assess its response to recent Ukrainian attacks….
Russian President Vladimir Putin has said proposals aimed at ending the war in Ukraine remain under consideration, while warning that Moscow will respond to what he described as a series of Ukrainian attacks.
Speaking to journalists in St Petersburg on Friday, Putin said Russia had been prepared to return to negotiations with Kyiv following last week’s parliamentary elections but claimed Ukrainian attacks had changed the situation.
He said Moscow would now have to determine what steps were in Russia’s interests before deciding how to proceed with any potential settlement.
“They are the ones who started it. Everywhere, on every front. Are these playthings, child’s play?” Putin said in remarks broadcast on Russian television.
“They should therefore be made to feel Russia’s retaliatory strikes and understand that no provocative actions, no stirring up the situation to secure a result, will work. They’re only making things worse for themselves.”
Putin’s comments come as both sides continue to exchange long-range strikes more than four years after Russia launched its full-scale invasion of Ukraine.
Despite the increasingly hostile rhetoric, Putin said possible avenues for ending the conflict had not been discarded.
“They are all on the table. It’s all possible,” he said. “But after everything they have done, we will still have to think carefully about what we need to do in response.”
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy has argued that attacks against Russian targets are a response to Russian strikes on Ukrainian civilians and infrastructure. He has also continued to call for direct negotiations aimed at ending the war.
Putin, however, said Ukraine’s renewed interest in talks was partly driven by the impact of Russian attacks.
He specifically pointed to Russia’s use of jet-powered drones, saying their ability to fly at higher altitudes had made them harder for Ukrainian forces to intercept.
Deadly strikes continue
The latest statements come against a backdrop of intensifying aerial attacks.
Russian forces have routinely targeted Ukrainian cities with drones and missiles, often during nighttime operations. In recent weeks, however, Kyiv and other Ukrainian locations have faced extended daytime barrages.
Seven people were killed in an air strike on Kyiv on Friday, according to Ukrainian authorities.
Ukraine has also conducted a sustained campaign against targets inside Russia, with attacks frequently focused on oil facilities and retail outlets. Some of the strikes have occurred as far as 3,000 kilometres from the Ukrainian border.
Putin accused Ukraine of deliberately escalating the confrontation, citing attacks on St Petersburg during an international conference in June and strikes on Moscow during Russia’s parliamentary elections last week.
He also claimed that Ukrainian forces had attacked polling stations, killing one election official and injuring others.
Ukraine has not accepted Putin’s characterisation of the attacks as unprovoked escalation and has repeatedly pointed to Russia’s own strikes as the context for its military operations against targets inside Russia.
Putin comments on US-China ties
The Russian president also addressed relations between Washington and Beijing following talks this week between US President Donald Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping.
Putin said Moscow welcomed any “agreement of a positive nature” reached between the two countries.
He also said his attendance at the upcoming APEC summit in China would depend on developments inside Russia.
For now, Putin’s latest comments leave the door open to renewed negotiations while making clear that Moscow intends to assess its next steps in response to the continuing attacks before committing to a new diplomatic process.
