Kremlin repeats Putin’s assertion that Ukraine war is nearly over after Zelensky casts doubt

MOSCOW – The Kremlin repeated Russian President Vladimir Putin’s assertion that the war in Ukraine was almost over on May 12, after Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said Moscow had no intention of ending it.

“I think that the matter is coming to an end,” Mr Putin told reporters on May 9 about the war, now in its fifth year.

Asked to comment on Mr Putin’s remarks, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said a certain amount of trilateral work with Ukraine and the United States had been done towards finding a peace deal.

“This accumulated groundwork in terms of the peace process allows us to say that the completion is indeed approaching,” Mr Peskov told reporters, though he added that it was difficult to provide specific details at the current time.

On May 11, Mr Zelensky said: “Russia has no intention of ending this war. And we are, unfortunately, preparing for new attacks.”

US President Donald Trump has convened multiple rounds of talks with the warring sides to try to end the conflict, but no peace deal has emerged. Russia, which now occupies around a fifth of Ukraine, wants Kyiv to cede additional territory. Kyiv wants Russian troops to withdraw.

Mr Peskov said Russia would welcome further US mediation efforts and Mr Putin was prepared to meet Mr Zelensky in person once the peace process was finalised.

“And for that finalisation, in order to put a full stop to it, a great deal of preparatory work still needs to be done,” he said, adding that the conflict could end as soon as Kyiv and Mr Zelensky “take the necessary decision”.

The warring sides agreed to a short, US-mediated ceasefire from May 9-11, coinciding with the anniversary of the Soviet victory over the Nazis in World War II.

Although neither side reported large-scale airstrikes during the ceasefire, both said fighting continued along the front line and accused each other of drone and artillery attacks. REUTERS