Russian President Vladimir Putin has stated that Moscow will continue its war against Ukraine, rejecting Kyiv’s proposals to limit the use of long-range missiles and halt hostilities.
In an interview with Russian state television on Sunday, Putin claimed that Ukraine had proposed a mutual halt to long-range attacks as a step toward peace. However, the Russian leader suggested this proposal was made because Kyiv’s forces are under pressure along the 1,250-kilometer front line.
“It is clear why this proposal is being made because our counterstrikes deep into Ukrainian territory are much stronger, have greater impact and are, frankly, more destructive,” Putin said. “Given their catastrophic shortage of personnel, the Ukrainian armed forces apparently believe this could be their salvation. But saving the Kyiv regime is not part of our plans,” he added.
Ukrainian officials have not yet publicly commented on Putin’s remarks, including his claims that Kyiv sent a proposal to curb the use of long-range missiles.
Putin acknowledged that Russia has had to increase its air defense capacity to counter intensified Ukrainian drone attacks targeting Russia’s oil industry in recent months.
On Sunday, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said Ukrainian long-range drones struck the Slavyansk and Yaroslavl oil refineries in Russia. A fire broke out at the Slavyansk-na-Kubani refinery in Russia’s Krasnodar region, killing one person.
“We continue our operations that weaken Russia’s ability to wage this war,” Zelenskyy wrote, adding that each attack “means fewer resources serving Russia’s war machine.”
Ukrainian officials have yet to comment on the prospect of limiting long-range strikes, but in early June, Zelenskyy wrote an open letter to Putin proposing a meeting to discuss ending the war. Putin rejected that proposal.
In September 2024, Putin warned that if Western nations allowed Ukraine to use their long-range weapons to strike inside Russia, it would signal NATO was “at war” with Russia. However, in November 2024, the US and NATO gave Kyiv the green light to use long-range missiles against targets on Russian territory.
Since US President Donald Trump began his second term in January 2025, he has promised to end Russia’s war in Ukraine. He has held separate meetings with Putin and Zelenskyy, but these efforts have not yet yielded results.
Experts say Putin’s rejection of limiting long-range missiles is a further indication of his unwillingness to engage in serious negotiations. “Russia does not want to signal weakness in relation to Ukraine but also in the context of relations with NATO,” said Ian Lesser, a fellow at the German Marshall Fund.
Source: www.aljazeera.com