Vladimir Putin is open to peace after Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelensky suggested fresh ceasefire talks, Moscow said.
Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov said the Russian president was ready to negotiate, but that Russia remained committed to “achieving its goals”.
It comes after Mr Zelensky offered Moscow another round of peace talks for next week, saying he wanted to speed up ending the conflict, following US president Donald Trump’s 50-day deadline of ceasefire or sanctions.
“President Putin has repeatedly spoken of his desire to bring the Ukrainian settlement to a peaceful conclusion as soon as possible. This is a long process, it requires effort, and it is not easy,” Mr Peskov said.
“The main thing for us is to achieve our goals. Our goals are clear,” he added. The Kremlin has insisted that any peace deal should see Ukraine withdraw from the four regions that Russia illegally annexed in September 2022.
Meanwhile, Moscow continued to intensify its long-range attacks on Ukrainian cities, launching more drones in a single night than it did during some entire months in 2024.
And in Russia, at least 140 flights were cancelled and Moscow’s four major airports were forced to close after Ukraine launched a drone strike across the country.
The Kremlin wants Ukraine to renounce its bid to join Nato and accept strict limits on its armed forces – demands Kyiv and its Western allies have rejected.
In his nightly address on Saturday, Mr Zelensky said his officials have proposed a new round of peace talks this week.
Russian state media reported on Sunday that no date has yet been set for the negotiations, but said Istanbul would likely remain the host city.
On 14 July, Mr Trump threatened Russia with steep tariffs and announced a rejuvenated pipeline for American weapons to reach Ukraine, hardening his stance toward Moscow.
Mr Trump said he would implement “severe tariffs” unless a peace deal is reached within 50 days. He provided few details on how they would be implemented, but suggested they would target Russia’s trading partners.
In addition, Mr Trump said European allies would buy “billions and billions” of dollars of US military equipment to be transferred to Ukraine, replenishing the besieged country’s supplies of weapons.
Included in the plan are Patriot air defence systems, a top priority for Ukraine as it fends off Russian drones and missiles.
