Putin Vows No Retreat on Annexed Ukrainian Regions, Rejects Kyiv's Peace Proposal

Moscow. Russian President Vladimir Putin has made it clear that Russia will not back down from its military goal of fully occupying four Ukrainian regions. He rejected Ukraine's new proposal, presented as a way to de-escalate the conflict that has been ongoing for over four years.

In an interview with Russian state television, Putin highlighted the need to enhance air defense capabilities to counter Ukraine's intensified drone attacks, primarily targeting Russia's oil industry. He claimed that Russia is effectively managing the fuel supply issues caused by Ukrainian attacks. Earlier, at a meeting with government ministers and other officials at the Kremlin, Putin had acknowledged that these attacks had led to fuel shortages in various Russian regions, but stated that Russia was managing the situation.