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Putin eyes grabbing maximum Ukraine land after losing interest in talks: Report
Ukraine war: After Russia suffered setbacks last month, Putin was reportedly seeking a peace deal with Ukraine but now has told his people involved in bid to end the war that he sees no prospect for a settlement.
Russian president Vladimir Putin has lost interest in diplomatic efforts to end the Ukraine war and seems to now be set on seizing as much territory as possible, news website Financial Times reported.
After Russia suffered setbacks last month, Putin was reportedly seeking a peace deal with Ukraine but now has told his people involved in bid to end the war that he sees no prospect for a settlement.
“Putin sincerely believes in the nonsense he hears on [Russian] television and he wants to win big,” a person briefed on the talks Putin had with his officials, told the website. The talks stalled after Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelensky accused Russia of committing war crimes against civilians in Bucha and Mariupol.
The Russian president was furious after Ukraine sank the Moskva, the flagship of Moscow's Black Sea fleet, and said the peace efforts were at a dead end.
Russia on Friday had announced that one crew member had died and 27 were missing after the missile cruiser had sunk.
"As a result of a fire on April 13, the Moskva missile cruiser was seriously damaged due to the detonation of ammunition," the defence ministry had said in a statement. However, Pentagon claimed that the Russian warship had sunk in the Black Sea after being hit by two missiles from Ukraine.
The fighting between the two forces has entered the third month. The United Nations commission on refugees has estimated nearly five million people have fled Ukraine since Moscow's all out invasion on the eastern European country on February 24.
US Secretary of State Antony Blinken and defence secretary held talks with the Ukrainian president in Kyiv last Sunday. Zelensky is said to have asked the United States for more powerful weapons to resist the Russian offensive in the south and east, Reuters reported.
