Russian President Vladimir Putin said on Thursday that a US proposal to end the war between Russia and Ukraine is a starting point for talks. He told the Ukrainian army to retreat, otherwise Russia’s larger army would defeat them.
“We need to sit down and discuss this seriously,” Putin told reporters at the end of a three-day visit to Kyrgyzstan. Every word counts, he said. He described US President Donald Trump’s plan as a set of issues put forward for discussion rather than a draft agreement.
The Russian leader said hostilities would end if Ukrainian troops withdrew from the areas they occupied. If they do not move, we will do so using force. Kremlin officials have not yet said anything specific about the peace plan presented by Trump last week.
Despite Trump’s continued efforts to broker a deal, Putin has shown no willingness to back down from his goals in Ukraine. Meanwhile, officials said a 53-year-old man was killed in a Russian drone strike in Ukraine’s northern Sumy region.
Russia also struck Ukraine’s Odessa and Dnipropetrovsk regions early Thursday, injuring three people and causing a fire, local officials said.
According to the Ukrainian Air Force, Russia fired 142 drones at Ukraine overnight. Meanwhile, the Russian Defense Ministry said Russian air defense shot down 118 Ukrainian drones overnight over various Russian territories and the Black Sea.