Putin gave a huge speech after Donald Trump brokered a short ceasefire between Russia and Ukraine.

07:51, Sun, May 10, 2026 Updated: 08:50, Sun, May 10, 2026

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Putin made a bombshell statement on the Ukraine war (Image: Getty)

Vladimir Putin has claimed the war "is coming to an end" as he faces the grim reality of punishing missile and drone strikes from Ukraine. The Russian dictator also mentioned Volodymyr Zelensky by name - a rare event - and acknowledged they could meet to seal a peace deal.

Russia's president subtly changed his position on ending the conflict amid an outpouring of invective against the West and Ukraine. He did so amid a short three-day ceasefire brokered by Donald Trump that he only agreed to after Ukraine’s new domestically-produced missiles and drones succeeded in massively damaging key Russian targets. The new twist from Putin also came amid speculation he is facing near mutiny inside his security apparatus over continuing the war, with unconfirmed rumours of a coup plot and paranoia about his own security.

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He has claimed the war “is coming to an end” (Image: Getty)

“I think the matter is coming to an end,” he said, referring to the war he started more than four years ago.

He dressed up the prospect of halting the conflict as due to the West’s failure to inflict a “crushing defeat” on Russia, avoiding mention of his own military humiliation in failing to grab Ukraine, which has lately pummelled his key infrastructure.

For the first time in almost a year and a half, he uttered the Kyiv leader’s name, saying: “I simply heard again that the Ukrainian side, Mr Zelensky, is ready to hold a personal meeting.” Unusually, he did not brand him an “illegitimate” president.

Putin repeated his tired formula that he would meet Zelensky in Moscow — but added that they could meet in a “third country” to clinch a peace deal.

He said: "I'm not proposing this meeting, but if someone does, please let whoever wants to meet come, let them come to Moscow, and we'll meet.

"We could meet in a third country, but only after final agreements have been reached on a peace treaty, which should have a long-term historical perspective."