Zelensky’s Government Is Illegal, Peace Deal Now Meaningless: Putin
The Chronify
Russian President Vladimir Putin has said that Ukraine’s current government is “illegal” and that making any kind of agreement with them is “meaningless.”
He further stated that the plan proposed by U.S. President Donald Trump is not a draft agreement, but merely a set of discussion points that could serve as the basis for a future deal.
Putin claimed that the government in Kyiv has lost its legitimacy because Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky’s term expired without new elections being held. Kyiv, however, says elections are impossible amid Russia’s invasion and the ongoing state of martial law.
Speaking to reporters after a three-day visit to Kyrgyzstan, Putin said that even if the United States considers Russia’s position, many important issues still need to be discussed. In his words, “We need to sit down and talk seriously. Every word matters.”
The Russian president added that the war could stop if Ukrainian forces withdraw from the territories Russia claims. “If they do not withdraw, we will enforce it by force,” he said.
Putin has previously demanded that Ukraine pull its troops out of the entire Donetsk, Luhansk, Kherson, and Zaporizhzhia regions even from areas not currently under Russian control. He also wants Ukraine’s NATO membership bid halted and Western military presence banned, in an effort to gradually return the country to Russia’s sphere of influence.
Meanwhile, U.S. Special Envoy Steve Witkoff is scheduled to visit Moscow next week, while U.S. Army Secretary Dan Driscoll is also expected to visit Kyiv around the same time.
Notably, Russia launched its full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, triggering Europe’s largest conflict since World War II.
