Russian President Vladimir Putin on Tuesday dismissed the possibility of a ceasefire in Ukraine and firmly ruled out a summit with his Ukrainian counterpart, Volodymyr Zelensky. During a televised government meeting, Putin accused Kyiv of orchestrating terrorist attacks targeting Russian civilians.
“Today, amid heavy losses and retreats across all fronts, the Kyiv leadership has turned to terrorism in an attempt to intimidate Russia,” Putin stated, visibly agitated. He pointed to the recent derailment of two trains in the border regions of Bryansk and Kursk, which left seven dead and over a hundred injured—attacks Moscow directly blames on Ukraine.
According to Putin, these actions were decided “at the political level” in Kyiv, implicating not just the Ukrainian military or intelligence services, but the government itself. He noted the timing of the attacks, which coincided with the eve of a new round of peace talks in Istanbul, as evidence of an intent to sabotage negotiations.
“What is there to discuss with someone who bets on terrorism instead of peace?” Putin asked, referring to Zelensky. He argued that Kyiv’s requests for a 30- or 60-day suspension of hostilities would merely give Ukraine time to rearm with Western weapons, continue forced conscription, and prepare further attacks.
Putin also criticized Zelensky for rejecting short-term local ceasefires aimed at recovering the bodies of fallen soldiers. “It seems that staying in power is more important for that regime than peace or human life,” he added.
He warned that Ukraine’s recent actions reinforce Russia’s fear that “the illegitimate regime in Kyiv, which usurped power, is gradually turning into a terrorist organization” and that its Western backers risk becoming “accomplices to terrorism.”
Putin also defended the Russian delegation sent to Istanbul, led by his cultural advisor Vladimir Medinsky, after Kyiv criticized the level of representation. “Zelensky leads a regime completely rotten to the core with corruption,” he said.
At the Istanbul talks, Russia presented a memorandum demanding that Ukraine recognize the annexation of five regions—including Crimea—abandon its aspirations to join military alliances, reduce its armed forces, and hold new presidential and parliamentary elections within 100 days of lifting martial law.
Kyiv rejected the Kremlin’s key demands, particularly the insistence on neutrality. Meanwhile, it launched a special operation codenamed “Spiderweb,” which successfully destroyed several Russian strategic bombers using drone strikes on five airfields, two of them deep in Siberia.
