The Russian president, Vladimir Putin, has outright rejected the recent proposal from his Ukrainian counterpart, Volodymyr Zelensky, to "freeze" the current front line in eastern Ukraine —the Donbas, that is, the regions of Donetsk and Lugansk— in exchange for starting direct negotiations. The Kremlin leader has also dismissed Kiev's view on the territorial integrity of the country, stating that the entire eastern strip is "Russian territory" by decision of its inhabitants.
Putin has emphasized that Donetsk and Lugansk proclaimed their break from Ukraine and their adherence to Russia through two referendums recognized only by Moscow. "My position on this is that this is not their territory; historically it is Russian territory," the president has stated. "The inhabitants of these territories voted, first of all, for the independence of the State and, as a second step, voted for reunification with the Russian Federation," he pointed out in an interview.
In this context, the Kremlin considers it "inappropriate" for Zelensky to propose halting the fighting or to generally refer to "territorial losses" within the framework of the war in Ukraine. The Russian president has even claimed that "the latest genetic studies show that Russians and Ukrainians are, in fact, the same people."
The head of the Russian State has also stressed that any expectation of achieving a military victory against Russia is a chimera and that Zelensky and his Western partners should abandon that idea. "It is evident that it is impossible to defeat Russia on the battlefield. The idea that they can inflict a strategic defeat on us is not realistic," he pointed out during the interview granted to Vesta.
In his conversation with journalist Pavel Zarubin, Putin has also sent a message to European leaders who, in recent weeks, have warned about a possible direct confrontation with Russia, a hypothesis he has described as "schizophrenic."
"They constantly talk about the Russian threat while warning of preparations for a war with Russia. In my opinion, this kind of statements are an expression of political schizophrenia, but I hope they get over it," the Russian president has declared.
Lastly, Putin has reiterated that he maintains his willingness to resume trilateral contacts with the United States and Ukraine to "guarantee the security of Ukraine and Russia after the achievement of peace agreements," although he has emphasized that the outcome of those eventual conversations must be reflected in a peace treaty "definitive and not a suspension of hostilities for a brief period of time."