VLAD ENOUGH?
Putin ready to seek CEASEFIRE in Ukraine… but outrageously demands Kyiv give up ALL territory stolen by Russia
Putin has arrived in Belarus to test nuclear weapons
VLADIMIR Putin is ready to pause the war in Ukraine but only if Kyiv gives up all the territory stolen by Russia.
The despot is considering a ceasefire that recognises the current battlefield lines but is prepared to carry on his bloody war if Kyiv and the West do not respond, sources close to his inner circle said.
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Mad Vlad was frustrated about what he views as Western-backed attempts to hamper negotiations and Zelensky's decision to rule out talks, according to the sources.
Another of the sources close to the Kremlin said: "Putin can fight for as long as it takes, but Putin is also ready for a ceasefire to freeze the war."
The outlet spoke to a total of five people who work with or have worked with Putin at a senior level in both politics and business.
The fifth source did not comment on freezing the war at the current frontlines.
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Putin's spokesman Dmitry Peskov said the Kremlin chief had repeatedly made clear Russia was open to dialogue to achieve its goals, saying the country did not want eternal war.
Ukraine's foreign and defence ministries did not respond to questions.
The appointment of Andrei Belousov as Russia's defence minister last week was seen by some experts as placing the Russian economy on a permanent war footing in order to prolong conflict.
It followed sustained battlefield pressure and territorial advances by Russia in recent weeks.
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Ukraine's second largest city, Kharkiv, is under siege and has been hit with a missile barrage as the Russian president launched a hellish new onslaught.
Ukrainian forces are gallantly pushing back and have stopped Vlad's troops advancing further into the northeastern Kharkiv region.
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Kyiv has been battling a fresh Russian land assault in the region since May 10, when thousands of Moscow's troops stormed the border, making their biggest territorial advances in 18 months.
But, as a result, Moscow is intensifying its assault on other parts of the front, Ukraine's army said Friday.
Zelensky visited the capital city on Friday to discuss the battle for Vovchansk, a town that sits fewer than three miles from the border.
The army said: "Ukrainian Defence Forces have stopped Russian troops in the Kharkiv sector... The situation is under control, counter-offensive actions are underway."
Ukrainian commander-in-chief Oleksandr Syrsky added that despite initial success "the enemy has got completely bogged down in street battles for Vovchansk and suffered very high losses in assault units".
Reutors sources said that Putin would like to use Russia's current momentum to put the war behind him.
Based on inside knowledge they added that Putin thinks gains in the war so far were enough to sell a victory to the Russian people.
Europe's biggest ground conflict since World War Two has cost tens of thousands of lives on both sides and led to sweeping Western sanctions on Russia's economy.
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Putin understood any dramatic new advances would require another nationwide mobilisation, which he didn't want, the sources said.
The prospect of a ceasefire, or even peace talks, currently seems remote.
Zelensky has repeatedly said peace on Putin's terms is a non-starter.
He has vowed to retake lost territory, including Crimea, which Russia annexed in 2014. He signed a decree in 2022 that formally declared any talks with Putin "impossible."
One of the sources predicted no agreement could happen while Zelensky was in power, unless Russia bypassed him and struck a deal with Washington.
But, U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken told reporters he did not believe Putin was interested in serious negotiations.
Ukraine is preparing for talks hosted by Switzerland next month aimed at unifying international opinion on how to end the war.
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The talks were convened at the initiative of Zelensky who has said Putin should not attend.
Switzerland has not invited Russia but Moscow has said the talks are not credible without it being there.
It comes as Putin arrived in Belarus to stage nuclear drills and discuss nuclear weapons with his Alexander Lukashenko on Wednesday.
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Belarus started taking delivery of Russian warheads in June last year and it marked the first movement of the lethal weapons since the fall of the Soviet Union.
Some of the warheads are three times more powerful than the atomic bombs the US dropped on Hiroshima and Nagasaki in 1945.
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