In a hyper-hawkish speech to parliamentary leaders, more than four months after the war, Putin said the prospects for any negotiation would dim the longer the conflict dragged on. “Today we hear that they want to defeat us on the battlefield. What can you say, let them try,” he said. “We have heard many times that the West wants to fight us to the last Ukrainian. This is a tragedy for the Ukrainian people, but it seems that everything is working towards it.” Russia accuses the West of waging a proxy war against it, hammering its economy with sanctions and boosting the supply of advanced weapons to Ukraine. But while boasting that Russia had just hit its stride, Putin also hinted at the possibility of negotiations. “Everyone should know that, in general, we have not started anything seriously yet,” he added. “At the same time, we do not reject peace talks. But those who reject them should know that the longer it goes on, the harder it will be for them to negotiate with us.” It was the first mention of diplomacy in weeks after repeated statements from Moscow that negotiations with Kyiv had completely broken down. Since invading Ukraine on February 24, Russian forces have seized large swathes of the country, including completing the seizure of the eastern region of Luhansk last Sunday. However, Russia’s progress was much slower than many analysts had predicted, and Russian forces were defeated in initial attempts to capture the capital, Kyiv, and the second city, Kharkiv. (Reporting by Mark Trevelyan in London Editing by Leslie Adler)
