Putin Rejects Full Ukraine Ceasefire, Says Kyiv Would Use Truce to Rearm and Launch Attacks
MOSCOW: Russian President Vladimir Putin on Wednesday (Jun 4) dismissed the possibility of a full ceasefire in Ukraine, asserting that Kyiv would exploit any pause in hostilities to rearm and mobilize.
"Why reward them by giving them a break from the combat, which will be used to pump the regime with Western arms, to continue their forced mobilisation and to prepare different terrorist acts?" Putin said during a televised government meeting.
At recent peace talks in Istanbul, Ukraine proposed an unconditional 30-day truce. In response, Russia presented demands including Ukraine's full withdrawal from four regions—Donetsk, Luhansk, Zaporizhzhia, and Kherson—that Moscow claims to have annexed.
Putin also accused Ukraine of orchestrating "terrorist" attacks on bridges in Russia's border regions over the weekend, including one that caused a train derailment, killing seven people. Ukraine has not claimed responsibility for the incident.
Russia proposed a short, two to three-day ceasefire to allow both sides to retrieve the bodies of fallen soldiers. However, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov stated that Kyiv rejected this proposal.
"I believe this is simply a gross mistake on the part of the regime in Kyiv," Lavrov said.
Despite the stalemate, Russia's top negotiator, Vladimir Medinsky, confirmed that Moscow is prepared to proceed with a large-scale prisoner exchange agreed upon in Istanbul, scheduled for June 7 to 9. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy indicated that the first phase would commence this weekend.
Zelenskyy has dismissed Russia's ceasefire proposal as an ultimatum and reiterated his call for direct talks with Putin, emphasizing the need for a ceasefire ahead of any potential summit involving US President Donald Trump and Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan.
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