President Vladimir Putin announced on 28/6 that new proposals have emerged from Ukraine, including a halt to long-range strikes by both sides. Speaking in an interview with Russian state television, Putin stated, "The proposal was clearly made because our counter-attacks are more powerful, impactful, and frankly, more destructive."
According to Putin, Ukraine also proposed limiting fighting to the four provinces Russia claimed to annex in 2022: Donetsk, Lugansk, Zaporizhzhia, and Kherson. This would involve ceasing all military activities in other territories.
President Putin believes such an agreement would allow Ukrainian forces to withdraw from Mykolaiv, Dnipropetrovsk, Kharkov, Sumy provinces, and some border areas, to redeploy them to the four aforementioned regions. "Ukraine seems to believe this could be a way to address their severe manpower shortage, but helping them is not part of our plans," he said.
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President Putin chairs a meeting at the Kremlin on 28/6. *Photo: AP* |
The Russian leader also expressed hope for a resumption of US-led diplomatic efforts aimed at ending the conflict. He anticipated that US envoys Jared Kushner and Steve Witkoff would visit Moskva again once the "hot phase" of the US-Iran conflict is resolved.
President Putin appeared to agree with a recent comment by Secretary of State Marco Rubio, who stated that no agreement was signed at last year's summit between the two countries' leaders in Alaska, despite discussions on proposals from Washington. "No one signed anything, but we discussed some possibilities to end the Ukraine conflict," Putin explained.
Putin indicated that the US offered concessions, which were outlined in Washington's proposals during negotiations. The Russian president suggested that his Belarusian counterpart, Alexander Lukashenko, could assist peace talks, following a two-day dialogue between the two leaders last week.
The Office of the President of Ukraine has not commented on this information.
Russia and Ukraine have regularly conducted long-range strikes against each other's territory since the conflict began. In recent weeks, Kyiv has repeatedly attacked logistics systems, energy facilities, and targets in the Crimean Peninsula and areas seized by Moskva during the fighting, as well as urban areas deep within Russian territory.
These unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) attacks forced the Moskva oil refinery to halt operations, exacerbating fuel shortages in Russia. Reuters, citing informed sources, stated that the refinery needs at least 6 months for repairs before it can resume operations.
At a meeting with ministers at the Kremlin on 28/6, President Putin acknowledged that Ukraine's strike campaign has caused "certain fuel shortages" in the short term in many Russian regions, adding that the government is addressing the issue.
Russia's large-scale attacks have also caused significant losses for Ukraine. Earlier this month, 23 people were killed and 130 injured after a series of Russian attacks using hypersonic, ballistic, cruise missiles, and UAVs. Many defense and industrial facilities in the capital Kyiv sustained heavy damage.
By Pham Giang (According to Reuters, RIA Novosti)
