Vladimir Putin is ready to discuss peace in Ukraine but wants to achieve goals, Kremlin says

Vladimir Putin wants peace with Ukraine but the Kremlin’s key objectives must first be met, according to his spokesman. Follow updates.

Russian President Vladimir Putin is ready to move toward a peace settlement for Ukraine but Moscow’s main objective is to achieve its goals, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told state television in a clip published on Sunday.

Peskov said that the world was now accustomed to US President Donald Trump’s sometimes “harsh” rhetoric but pointed out that Mr Trump had also underscored in comments on Russia that he would continue to search for a peace deal.

“President Putin has repeatedly spoken of his desire to bring the Ukrainian settlement to a peaceful conclusion as soon as possible. This is a long process, it requires effort, and it is not easy,” Peskov said told state television reporter Pavel Zarubin.

Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said Vladimir Putin wants a “peaceful conclusion”. Picture: AP Photo/Pavel Bednyakov, Pool

“The main thing for us is to achieve our goals. Our goals are clear,” Peskov said.

On Monday, Mr Trump announced a tougher stance on Russia, pledging a new wave of military aid to Ukraine, including Patriot missile defense systems.

He also gave Russia a 50-day deadline to agree to a ceasefire or face additional sanctions.

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UKRAINE PROPOSES MORE PEACE TALKS

It comes as Kyiv proposed to Moscow a new round of peace talks next week, Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelensky said, hours after Russian strikes across Ukraine claimed more lives.

Two rounds of talks in Istanbul between Moscow and Kyiv have failed to result in any progress towards a ceasefire, instead yielding large-scale prisoner exchanges and deals to return the bodies of killed soldiers.

“Security Council Secretary Umerov... reported that he had proposed the next meeting with the Russian side for next week,” Mr Zelensky said in his evening address. “The momentum of the negotiations must be stepped up,” he added.

Mr Zelensky reiterated his readiness to have a face-to-face sitdown with Mr Putin.

In this photo distributed by the Russian Defence Ministry Press Service, assault troops of the Russian Army attend training to hone their combat skills at one of the rear training grounds. Picture: AP

“A meeting at the leadership level is needed to truly ensure peace — lasting peace,” he said.

At talks last month, Russia outlined a list of hardline demands, including calls for Ukraine to cede more territory and to reject all forms of Western military support.

Kyiv dismissed them as unacceptable and at the time questioned the point of further negotiations if Moscow was not willing to make concessions.

Assault troops of the Russian Army attend training to hone their combat skills. Picture: Russian Defense Ministry Press Service via AP

The Kremlin said earlier this month it was ready to continue talks with Ukraine after Mr Trump gave Russia 50 days to strike a peace deal or face sanctions.

Mr Trump also pledged to supply Kyiv with new military aid, sponsored by NATO allies, as its cities suffer ever-increasing Russian aerial attacks.

Ukrainian Emergency Service, a residential building, burns following a Russian air attack in Odesa. Picture: Ukrainian Emergency Service via AP

Russia has escalated long-range aerial attacks on Ukrainian cities as well as frontline assaults and shelling over recent months, defying Trump’s warning.

Most lately on Saturday, it had fired missile and drone strikes that killed three people across Ukraine.

Two people died after a Russian missile hit Ukraine’s central Dnipropetrovsk region, an important industrial hub, into which Russia’s forces have recently advanced.

A damaged residential building following a Russian attack in Odesa. Picture: AFP

An earlier Russian salvo of 20 drones on the Ukrainian port city of Odesa killed at least one person overnight.

Russia had to suspend trains for about four hours overnight, causing extensive delays in the southern Rostov region, when it came under a Ukrainian drone attack that wounded one railway worker.

A man sits near a damaged car following a Russian attack in Odesa. Picture: AFP

Moscow and Kyiv are menacing each other with swarms of cheap drones to overwhelm each other’s air defence, as the warring sides said on Saturday they had intercepted hundreds of drones, now launched in large amounts almost daily.

As part of the Istanbul agreements, Kyiv received 1,000 soldiers’ bodies on Thursday, while Russia said it had received 19 from Ukraine.

The European Union on Friday agreed an 18th package of sanctions on Moscow that targets Russian banks and lowers a price cap on oil exports, in a bid to curb its ability to fund the war.

This photograph shows a wreckage following a Russian attack in Odesa. Picture: AFP

AUSTRALIA GIVES UKRAINE MORE TANKS

Australia is providing 49 M1A1 Abrams tanks – valued at $245m – to Ukraine to help bolster its war against Russia’s illegal invasion.

The first tranche of the retired tanks are now in the possession of the Armed Forces of Ukraine after they were shipped from the Port of Geelong.

Australia first purchased the fleet of 59 Abrams tanks – which were never deployed into a combat zone – in 2007.

The Australian Army has since replaced the fleet with newer M1A2 tanks.

An Australian Army M1A1 Abrams main battle tank is lifted onto a ship in Australia, bound for Ukraine. Picture: Supplied

Last year, Ukraine expressed interest in taking the M1A1 fleet after Australia refused to donate its retired fleet of Taipan helicopters – which have since been dismantled and buried – due to concerns they would be too complicated to maintain and operate.

The current $245m support package involving the M1A1 Abrams fleet is part of the $1.5bn in assistance Australia has provided to the war-torn nation since the start of Russia’s conflict in 2022.

“The M1A1 Abrams tanks will make a significant contribution to Ukraine’s ongoing fight against Russia’s illegal and immoral invasion,” Deputy Prime Minister and Defence Minister Richard Marles, who met the army personnel who helped deliver the tanks, said.

“Australia remains steadfast in our support for Ukraine and seeing a just and lasting peace.”

The first tranche of M1A1 Abrams main battle tanks gifted to Ukraine are prepared for servicing at a port in Europe. Picture: Supplied

Part of a support package worth $245m, the tanks have been retired by the Australian Army but were gifted to Ukraine as part of its fight against Russia. Picture: Supplied

Ukraine has now taken possession of the majority of these tanks, with delivery of the final tranche to occur in the coming months.

Australia is also due to deploy a Royal Australian Air Force E-7A Wedgetail to Europe to help protect a vital international gateway for assistance to Ukraine.

Since 2003, the Australian Defence Force has helped train hundreds of Ukrainian troops as part of the UK-led and based multinational training mission Operation Kudu, which continues today.

Ukrainian ambassador to Australia, Vasyl Myroshnychenko thanks Australian Army soldiers for their efforts in loading M1A1 Abrams main battle tanks onto a ship. Picture: Supplied

EU, UK TARGET RUSSIAN OIL IN NEW SANCTIONS

The European Union and Britain on Friday sought to ramp up economic pressure on Russia to halt the war in Ukraine by slashing a price cap meant to choke off revenues from key oil exports.

The move from the EU was part of a sweeping new package of sanctions — the bloc’s 18th since the start of Russia’s 2022 invasion — that also took aim at Moscow’s banking sector and military capabilities.

The measures come as allies closely watch whether US President Donald Trump follows through on his threat to punish Moscow over Russian President Vladimir Putin’s failure to move forward on a truce.

“The message is clear: Europe will not back down in its support for Ukraine. The EU will keep raising the pressure until Russia ends its war,” said EU foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas.

Kaja Kallas, EU foreign policy chief says Europe will keep applying pressure on Russia until it stops the war on Ukraine. Picture: AFP

British foreign minister David Lammy announced the UK was joining the EU price cap sanction, saying they were “striking at the heart of the Russian energy sector”.

“As Putin continues to stall on serious peace talks, we will not stand by,” he said.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky hailed the EU’s new sanctions as “essential and timely”.

The bloc’s new measures were approved after Slovakia dropped a weeks-long block following talks with Brussels over separate plans to phase out Russian gas imports.

France's Minister for Europe and Foreign Affairs Jean-Noel Barrot says the EU will apply “unprecedented” economic pressure on Russia. Picture: AFP

But the Kremlin said it would seek to “minimise” the impact, and warned the measures would backfire.

The price cap is originally a G7 initiative aimed at limiting the amount of money Russia makes by exporting oil to countries such as China and India.

The EU and Britain said they would lower the cap on Russian oil exported to third countries around the world to 15 per cent below market value.

Originally published as Vladimir Putin is ready to discuss peace in Ukraine but wants to achieve goals, Kremlin says