No ‘Specifics’ on Peace Deal After Putin Says Ukraine War Nears End – Kremlin

May 13 ------ The Kremlin said it was too early to discuss any concrete path to ending the war in Ukraine, despite Russian President Vladimir Putin claiming days earlier that the conflict was “coming to an end.”

Speaking after Moscow’s scaled-down Victory Day parade on Red Square, Putin said the Ukraine war is “moving toward its end” but offered no details on what that would mean in practice.

Asked about the remarks on Tuesday, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said there were still no specifics to discuss. “The accumulated groundwork in terms of the peace process allows us to say that the end is drawing near,” Peskov told reporters. “But in this context, it is not possible at the moment to speak about any specifics.”

Peskov said Moscow remained open to continued contacts, including with the US, but added that Russia’s military campaign continues after a temporary ceasefire announced by US President Donald Trump expired at midnight Monday. “You know that the humanitarian ceasefire has ended and the special military operation is ongoing,” Peskov said, using the Kremlin’s term for the full-scale invasion launched in February 2022.

He added that the war “could be stopped at any moment” if Kyiv accepted Moscow’s demands, including withdrawing from parts of the Donbas region still controlled by Ukraine – a condition Kyiv has repeatedly rejected.

Purpose behind Putin’s remarks?

Putin’s comments came as the Kremlin attempts to project confidence more than four years into a war that has killed hundreds of thousands and become Europe’s deadliest conflict since World War II. US analyst Paul Goble told Kyiv Post that the Kremlin’s messaging appeared aimed more at domestic audiences than at genuine peace negotiations. “Putin is floating the idea that his war in Ukraine may be nearing an end not because that is happening, but rather he wants to calm some in Russia about what is happening in Ukraine,” Goble said.

According to Goble, the Kremlin is trying to reassure Russians after months of battlefield strain, economic pressure, and a Victory Day display that highlighted Russia’s limitations rather than its strength. A recent analysis by The Economist asserted that Kyiv has gained the upper hand in the war based on Moscow’s high troop losses and current net territorial losses – the first since 2024, when Kyiv launched an offensive in Russia’s Kursk region.

By hinting that the war could be winding down, Putin is also attempting to weaken international momentum behind further military aid for Ukraine, Goble argued. “He wanted to end the war, but the West is preventing it,” Goble said, describing what he called a familiar Kremlin tactic of publicly talking about peace while continuing military operations. “Classic Putin statecraft,” Goble added.

Source: kyivpost.com