Russian President Vladimir Putin has said he believes the war with Ukraine is “heading to an end” as Moscow and Kyiv entered a temporary ceasefire and prepared for a major prisoner exchange.
Putin made the remarks on Saturday while answering questions from journalists after events marking the 81st anniversary of the Soviet Union’sPutin says Russia-Ukraine war coming to an end victory in World War II.
His comments came as Russia and Ukraine began a three-day truce and agreed to exchange 1,000 prisoners in one of the largest swaps since the conflict escalated in 2022.
The Russian leader criticised Western support for Kyiv, saying expectations that Russia would collapse under pressure had failed.
“And they started ratcheting up the confrontation with Russia, which continues to this day. I think it (the war) is heading to an end, but it’s still a serious matter,” Putin said.
“They spent months waiting for Russia to suffer a crushing defeat, for its statehood to collapse. It didn’t work out. And then they got stuck in that groove and now they can’t get out of it.”
Putin also accused Ukraine of delaying an earlier prisoner-of-war exchange proposed by Moscow.
According to him, Russia sent Kyiv a list of 500 Ukrainian servicemen held in Russian custody on May 5, but Ukrainian officials allegedly asked for more time to review the proposal before later indicating they were not ready for the exchange.
He said Moscow later supported a similar proposal put forward by Donald Trump and extended the ceasefire in hopes the deal could still happen.
Putin further stated that he remains open to direct talks with Volodymyr Zelensky, but stressed that any meeting should only happen after meaningful progress towards a long-term peace agreement.
“As for Zelensky’s ff f proposal or a personal meeting — sure, let whoever wants to meet come to Moscow,” he said.
“A meeting can also take place in a third country, but only once final agreements have been reached on a peace treaty designed for a long-term historical perspective.”
Putin maintained that the conflict is primarily between Russia and Ukraine, while welcoming attempts by the United States to help broker a settlement.
Russia launched its full-scale invasion of Ukraine on February 24, 2022, intensifying a conflict that has continued for more than four years.
