Russian President Vladimir Putin told senior representatives of international news agencies in St Petersburg on Thursday that Moscow was prepared to discuss a possible peace agreement on Ukraine, while also insisting that Russian forces would continue their offensive and that the Kremlin was not giving up its territorial claims.
The remarks came during the St Petersburg International Economic Forum, an annual showcase for Russia’s economy and foreign investment, which was overshadowed by Ukrainian drone strikes in and around the city, including attacks on an oil terminal and a nearby naval facility.
Putin conceded that Russian air defenses had not stopped all recent Ukrainian drone attacks and said Moscow would strengthen its systems after strikes that have reached deep inside Russia.
No Halt to Fighting
Putin confirmed that US President Donald Trump was demanding certain compromises from Moscow as part of a possible peace deal. Russia was ready to make concessions if Kyiv took a similar approach, he added.
However, he also argued that the fighting in Ukraine did not have to stop before peace talks could take place.
His comments framed Moscow as ready for diplomacy, but they did not signal a retreat from Russia’s central demands. Putin again referred to occupied Ukrainian territory as part of Russia and said the Russian army was continuing to advance.
“The offensive is going on every day. At the moment, the Russian Federation has taken full control of the Luhansk People’s Republic. And Russia has brought more than 85% of the territory of the Donetsk People’s Republic under its control”, he said, referring to two of the four Ukrainian regions that Moscow annexed in 2022, a move Kyiv and most Western countries have rejected as an illegal seizure of territory.
Putin reiterated that Russia had enough resources to achieve its military goals. Although he acknowledged that Moscow had to do more to protect itself from Ukrainian drones, he made clear that he believed time was on Russia’s side and that Ukraine did not have the manpower to prevail.
At the same time, he said Moscow was ready to reach a peace deal, specifically on the terms he had discussed with Trump in Anchorage.
Zelensky Calls for Direct Talks
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, meanwhile, sought to turn the pressure back on Moscow. In an open letter, he proposed a direct meeting with Putin to negotiate an end to the war and warned that Kyiv was otherwise ready to fight on.
Zelensky wrote that most Russians had had enough of Ukraine’s missile and drone attacks, inflation and fuel shortages and were ready for peace.
“Ukraine proposes ending this war through direct engagement between us – and you. I am proposing a meeting... If you do not personally come to the conclusion that it is time to end this war, Ukraine will continue fighting for its existence”, Zelensky wrote.
The Ukrainian president suggested that continued war could threaten Putin’s personal position. “It is a fact of Russian history that you know well: when Russia grows tired, change comes”, he added.
Oreshnik Still Under Testing
Putin also discussed the Oreshnik hypersonic missile, saying Russia had so far used it in ways that allowed the military to assess its accuracy and capabilities before any wider deployment, including against targets in populated areas.
Oreshnik is a missile with a range of more than 5,000 km, which Russia first fired against Ukraine in 2024. Putin has previously claimed that the system cannot be intercepted, although Western experts dispute that.
Putin also described former German Chancellor Gerhard Schröder as a figure who could be trusted to act as a mediator between Russia and Europe. He stressed, however, that he was not trying to tell European countries who should lead any dialogue with Moscow.
Putin Says Nord Stream Could Resume
Putin also said Russia was ready to resume natural gas supplies to Germany through the Nord Stream pipeline, adding that one of the two lines of Nord Stream 2 remained undamaged and was technically capable of carrying gas almost immediately.
“I am not joking – just press the button and the gas will start flowing. But for that you need a decision from the German government”, Putin said. He warned that Nord Stream was subject to US sanctions and that Berlin would have to find a way to have them lifted. Moscow was therefore waiting for a clear position from its German partners on whether they were interested in resuming supplies.
He also claimed Russia could supply up to 28 billion cubic meters of gas a year through the pipeline. If Germany showed no interest, Gazprom would redirect those volumes to other markets, he added.
The remarks came at a time when Russian officials also met Markus Frohnmaier, foreign policy spokesman for Germany’s AfD parliamentary group, at the economic forum in St Petersburg. Frohnmaier met Gazprom chief Alexei Miller and Kirill Dmitriev, a senior Putin adviser, and called for Nord Stream to be reopened.
The Nord Stream 1 and Nord Stream 2 pipelines were severely damaged by undersea explosions in September 2022. Germany subsequently sought alternative energy sources. Russia has blamed Ukraine for the attack, while Kyiv has repeatedly denied any involvement.
(ap, reuters, max)