Putin says Russia will fight on if Ukraine talks don’t lead to agreements

Russian President Vladimir Putin said on Thursday that outline draft peace proposals discussed by the United States and Ukraine could become the basis of future agreements to end the conflict in Ukraine, but that if not Russia would fight on.

Yet Putin also called the Ukrainian leadership “illegitimate” and said it was senseless to sign any documents with them, casting further doubt on a final peace treaty.

“We need to sit down and discuss this seriously,” Putin told reporters at the end of a three-day visit to Kyrgyzstan. “Every word matters.”

U.S. President Donald Trump has long said he wants to end the war in Ukraine, Europe’s deadliest conflict since World War Two, but his efforts so far, including a summit with Putin in Alaska in August, have not brought peace.

A leaked 28-point U.S. peace plan emerged last week, spooking Ukrainian and European officials who felt it bowed to Moscow’s key demands on NATO, Moscow’s control of a fifth of Ukraine and restrictions on Ukraine’s army.

European powers then gave their counter-proposal for peace and at talks in Geneva, the U.S. and Ukraine said they had created an “updated and refined peace framework” to end the war.

Putin, speaking in Bishkek after a summit with the leaders of a grouping of former Soviet republics, told reporters that the discussions so far were not about a draft agreement of any kind but about sets of issues.

He said that in Geneva, the U.S. and Ukraine had decided to divide up the 28 points into four separate components – and that a copy had been transmitted to Moscow.

“In general, we agree that this could be the basis for future agreements,” Putin said. “We see that the American side takes into account our position.”

Putin said that some things still needed to be discussed. If Europe wanted a pledge not to attack it, then Russia was willing to give such a formal pledge, he said, though he added that it was “complete nonsense” to suggest Russia would attack Europe.

Putin mixed a clear public expression of readiness to engage with the Trump administration over a possible peace plan for Ukraine with several warnings that Russia was prepared to fight on if necessary and take more of Ukraine.

Russian forces control more than 19% of Ukraine, or 115,600 square km, up one percentage point from two years ago, and have advanced in 2025 at the fastest pace since 2022, according to pro-Ukrainian maps.

Russia, Putin noted, was being told that it should cease the fighting but needed Kyiv’s forces to pull back before it could do so.

“Ukrainian troops must withdraw from the territories they hold, and then the fighting will cease. If they don’t leave, then we shall achieve this by armed means. That’s it,” Putin said.

Putin said that he considered the Ukrainian leadership to be illegitimate and so it was legally impossible to sign a deal with Kyiv.

It was therefore important, he said, to ensure that any agreement was recognized by the international community – and that the international community recognized Russian gains in Ukraine.

“Therefore, broadly speaking, of course, we ultimately want to reach an agreement with Ukraine. But right now, this is practically impossible. Impossible legally,” Putin said.

He said the Kyiv leadership lost legitimacy after refusing to hold elections when President Volodymyr Zelenskyy’s elected term expired. Kyiv says it cannot hold elections while under martial law and defending its territory against Russia.

Putin said that the Crimean peninsula, which Russia annexed from Ukraine in 2014, and the eastern Donbas region should be a topic for discussions with the U.S.

Analysts say Putin is attempting to outwait the commitment of Western countries to supporting Ukraine’s war effort. Trump has previously signaled he could walk away from efforts to stop the fighting if there is no progress. European officials say Putin is stalling because Russia wants to grab more of Ukraine before accepting any deal.

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The Institute for the Study of War on Wednesday cast doubt on Russian claims that its invasion is unstoppable as it is still struggling to capture cities in the eastern Donetsk region.

“Data on Russian forces’ rate of advance indicates that a Russian military victory in Ukraine is not inevitable, and a rapid Russian seizure of the rest of Donetsk Oblast (region) is not imminent,” the Washington-based think tank said. “Recent Russian advances elsewhere on the front line have largely been opportunistic and exploited seasonal weather conditions.”

Trump’s special envoy Steve Witkoff plans to visit Moscow early next week, Putin said. U.S. sanctions on Russian oil companies were unexpected, he added.

Commenting on the leak of a recording of a call between top advisers to Trump and Putin, the Kremlin chief rejected the suggestion that Witkoff had shown himself to be biased towards Moscow in peace talks over Ukraine, describing it as nonsense.

“It would be astonishing if he … rained curses down upon our heads, was very rude and then arrived to develop ties with us,” Putin said of Witkoff, casting him as a patriot defending U.S. interests.

The diplomatic developments have come against a backdrop of continued fighting.

A 53-year-old man was killed in a Russian drone attack in Ukraine’s northern Sumy region, officials said Friday. Also, Russia attacked Ukraine’s Odesa and Dnipropetrovsk regions early Thursday, injuring three people and starting fires, local authorities said. Russia launched 142 drones at Ukraine overnight, according to Ukraine’s air force.

Meanwhile, Russian air defenses downed 118 Ukrainian drones overnight above various Russian regions and the Black Sea, the Russian Defense Ministry said.

Ukraine’s army isn’t only under pressure on the battlefield. Zelenskyy’s government is mired in a major corruption scandal and is short of money.

In a development offering some relief, Ukraine reached an agreement for the International Monetary Fund to provide $8.1 billion over four years, according to a statement by the institution. The money comes from a fund that helps countries facing medium-term payment difficulties.

But Ukraine’s state budget and military needs for 2026 and 2027 are estimated at $153 billion.

—With additional files from the Associated Press