ST PETERSBURG/KYIV: President Vladimir Putin said on Thursday that Russia would defeat Ukraine on the battlefield if necessary, but was ready to end the war via diplomacy and honour unspecified compromises he said had been agreed with US President Donald Trump.
Speaking to foreign media editors on the sidelines of Russia’s annual economic forum, Putin showed no signs of changing his stance that Ukraine must surrender the rest of its eastern Donbas region which Russia does not yet control for the war to end.
“The offensive is ongoing on a daily basis. At present, the Russian Federation has taken full control of the Luhansk Peoples Republic — 100 percent. And it has brought over 85 percent of the territory of the Donetsk Peoples Republic under its control,” said Putin.
“We are certainly prepared and willing to reach an agreement with Ukraine through peaceful means. Specifically, on the basis we discussed during our meeting with President Trump in Anchorage. Russia agrees to those compromises we discussed in Anchorage. The Ukrainian side must also agree to these compromises. Then the conflict will quickly come to a natural conclusion.”
Zelensky, in open letter to Russian president, proposes face-to-face meeting
Putin also said that Russia had not yet used its Oreshnik hypersonic missile against Ukraine in real combat conditions, but had only test fired it to observe the results in order to make decisions about the full-scale future use of the Oreshnik, including against urban targets.
The Oreshnik, which Russia first fired against Ukraine in 2024, is a nuclear-capable missile with a range of over 5,000 km. Putin has said before that it is impossible to intercept, though Western experts have questioned that assertion.
Face-to-face meeting
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky proposed a face-to-face meeting with Vladimir Putin in a rare open letter to the Russian leader on Thursday, saying he was also ready for a “full ceasefire”.
“Ukraine proposes ending this war through direct engagement between us -- and you. I am proposing a meeting,” Zelensky said in the letter. “Ukraine is ready for a full ceasefire for the duration of the negotiations,” he added.
Rival visions of war and peace
President Vladimir Putin faced two rival outlines of Russia’s future as he hosted his premier annual investment conference with the war in Ukraine unabated.
Some participants at the glitzy St Petersburg International Economic Forum said Russia should fight on and gird for global confrontation with the West.
Published in Dawn, June 5th, 2026
