Conflicts

Putin will abandon peace talks and seek to destroy the Ukrainian state, independent media outlet Poyasnitelnaya Zapiska reports, citing sources close to the Kremlin.

The members of the Russian elite who support peace talks are now in the minority, an official sanctioned by the West has said.

If the West allows Ukraine to use Western missiles to strike inside Russia, as Kiev demands, the prospect of peace talks will be “completely” ruled out for the foreseeable future, another official who meets regularly with Mr Putin said.

“This has all gone too far. I don’t think there will be any peace process. Nothing will stop until Ukraine collapses,” said the head of a major state-owned company who is in contact with Putin.

According to the cited sources close to the Kremlin, Vladimir Putin would not exchange the territory held by Ukraine in the Kursk region for lands occupied by Russia in eastern Ukraine.

The media outlet's sources said that there were hopes that this summer that the war could end within six months to a year, thanks to factors such as Kiev's softening rhetoric and a major prisoner exchange between Russia and the West.

According to Poyasnitelnaya Zapiska, the Russian and Ukrainian armies were also close to a de-escalation agreement that included a mutual restriction of strikes on energy facilities, and planned to sign the agreement on August 22-23 in Qatar.

(MH with AmBar/Source: The Moscow Times/Poyasnitelnaya Zapiska/Photo: DPA/Kremlin Pool)