How murderous Putin is buying time to take Ukraine’s only bargaining chip off the table before he’ll EVER consider peace

6 hours ago 2

MURDEROUS Vladimir Putin is buying time to take Ukraine's bargaining chips off the table before he'll even consider peace, experts believe.

Geopolitical analysts have told The Sun that the Russian tyrant is still plotting towards his ultimate goal of conquest despite saying he wants an end to fighting.

Vladimir Putin at a press conference.

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President Vladimir Putin did not accept a ceasefire on ThursdayCredit: Getty

Solntsepyok multiple rocket launcher firing.

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The Russian army’s multiple rocket launcher Solntsepyok fires at Ukrainian troops in KurskCredit: AP

Russian servicemen checking damaged buildings in Sudzha, Kursk region, Russia.

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Russian soldiers walk through the town of Sudzha after they recaptured it from UkraineCredit: EPA

Illustration showing the Kursk collapse in Ukraine, with maps highlighting shrinking Ukrainian-held territory from March 4th to March 10th, and accompanying text detailing military implications.

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Putin on Thursday said he had "serious questions" about Washington's plan for a 30-day ceasefire in Ukraine but added that Moscow was ready to discuss it with US President Donald Trump.

Vlad said he wants to "remove the root causes of the crisis" before any fighting stops - a hint he wants long-desired concessions from the talks.

But experts believe the tyrant may just be stalling for time and using the talks in Jeddah, and any potential discussions between the White House and Kremlin directly, as a way to further his military aims.

Ex-military intelligence officer Philip Ingram said Putin was partly delaying because he wanted to expel Ukraine from Kursk and remove one of Kyiv's bargaining chips.

Ingram said: "He doesn't want a ceasefire which freezes front lines where Ukraine still occupies part of Russia."

Ingram also claimed Putin was diplomatically caught "where he can't really manoeuvre" as his objectives haven't changed.

Vlad also doesn't really want peace while he can continue fighting - but he needs to look like it.

Ultimately, Putin wants to achieve his objectives outright, or be able to "salami slice further parts of Ukraine at some stage in the future".

"He's done that by saying, yes, I accept a ceasefire. However, these are my conditions. That's typical Vladimir Putin," Ingram said.

Mykola Bielieskov, research fellow at the National Institute for Strategic Studies in Kyiv, said Moscow's primary goal with ceasefire talks was to sow more distrust between the US and Ukraine.

Trump says Putin's remarks on ceasefire are 'promising but not complete'

He said Putin was following classic Russian tactics that sow confusion and create openings to split Ukraine and its allies.

Putin's conditions for a ceasefire have presented unrealistic demands for Ukraine.

But Trump may try and force Zelensky to accept some of these unacceptable concessions on security and sovereignty to end the war.

But that would present Zelensky as a "spoiler" for peace in American eyes and sow discord in Ukraine against the US.

Ukrainian soldiers in camouflage ghillie suits during military drills.

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Former prisoners who volunteered to defend Ukraine take part in drillsCredit: AFP

TOPSHOT - Ukrainian servicemen from the 24th Mechanised Brigade conduct a field training exercise in an undisclosed location in the Donetsk region, on February 16, 2025, amid the Russian invasion of Ukraine. They dreamed of opening a business, starting a family, buying an apartment or climbing mountains. Instead, these Ukrainians are fighting to hold off Russia's army in a war they never asked for. Three years after the start of Russia's invasion on February 24, 2022, AFP asked soldiers to recount the hopes the conflict has stolen from them. (Photo by Genya SAVILOV / AFP) (Photo by GENYA SAVILOV/AFP via Getty Images)

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Ukrainian soldiers train in DonetskCredit: AFP

Illustration of Putin's alleged secret plan for Ukraine, showing a map with key areas and actions.

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"So it's not only about dragging feet, it's about shouldering the responsibility on others, blaming others and putting them and other players against each other, and basically presenting them as the spoilers of peace."

If Washington were to become fed up with Kyiv it may then pause further weapons shipments and intelligence support as Trump did following the Oval Office row.

Eventually, Putin's meatgrinder would grind Ukraine down as it runs out of weapons and manpower.

Bielieskov said: "The Russian response, it was a kind of vintage in terms of creating confusion and trying to create an opening for the discord between us and and Ukraine."

He said if Putin believes Trump is willing to walk away from Ukraine, he won't compromise on his most ambitious goals.

Bielieskov said: "Even a weakened Ukraine, even a blooded Ukraine, which is still soaring, which is still independent, it's a major humiliation for him.

Vladimir Putin laying a wreath at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier.

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Putin lays a wreath at the tomb of the unknown soldier in Moscow in FebruaryCredit: Getty

Damaged statue of Vladimir Lenin in front of a war-damaged building.

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A damaged statue of Vladimir Lenin in Sudzha after Ukraine took the cityCredit: AFP

"He's a strong man, he's an autocrat... [an independent Ukraine] it's his biggest failure, his biggest trauma."

Bielieskov also said that it was important for Russia to participate in talks as a way of balancing against China.

He said that as Moscow wanted some relationship with Washington so that it had room to manoeuvre with against Beijing when it needed to.

John Kennedy, a Research Leader for RAND, said Putin will be participating in talks "looking for opportunities that work in his favour".

In particular, the ceasefire talks give the Kremlin an opportunity to talk directly with the White House.

After three years of being an outcast in the international system, Putin could soon be talking directly with its most powerful actor.

Kennedy said: "Putin will be patient and wait for opportunities, but he's not going to jump at the first set of proposals.

Vladimir Putin's secret plan for Ukraine revealed

By Georgie English, Foreign News Reporter

VLADIMIR Putin's secret plans for the fate of Ukraine have been uncovered - with the tyrant hoping to decimate Ukraine until 2026, reports say.

The Russian despot has a maniacal plot to "completely dismantle" Ukraine's government while also weakening the US and stopping any "serious Western influence", classified Kremlin documents suggest.

The world is waiting with bated breath to see how Putin will respond to the US-proposed 30-day ceasefire.

Donald Trump has already praised the plan, which Ukraine has accepted, with US officials now saying "the ball is in Russia's court" to agree.

But leaked papers, uncovered by the Washington Post, claim to show that Putin has no intention of saying yes to any peace deal.

The documents, first written up in February by an influential think tank with ties to Russia’s Federal Security Service (FSB), shows how Moscow has a list of brutal demands it wants met before ending the war.

What does the Kremlin want?

  • A weakened US at the negotiating table
  • “Complete dismantling” of Ukrainian government
  • No resolution until 2026
  • Creation of new buffer zone
  • No European peacekeeping troops
  • No Nato membership for Ukraine
  • Sovereignty over stolen land

"In the meantime the war will likely continue, and Putin will be more able to cast himself as a responsible broker waiting for fair terms."

Kennedy said peace would suit Putin and stop the massive bloodshed his army has faced.

He said: "But there was little commitment to the idea of compromise in his words yesterday.

"In general, history shows that compromise with Putin is really an invitation to him to come back for more later."

Putin sent Trump a number of secret "signals" after he met with US special envoy Steve Witkoff yesterday.

Vlad sent him back to Washington with a special message, the Kremlin has claimed.

At Thursday afternoon's press conference, Putin warned Ukrainians still in Kursk "surrender or die".

On Thursday morning, Moscow claimed it had recaptured the key town of Sudzha off the Ukrainians in the Kursk region.

The Russians have released photos of the war-torn urban wasteland as it now stands.

Explosion damaging an apartment building in Mariupol, Ukraine.

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An explosion erupts from an apartment building in MariupolCredit: AP
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