Putin says Ukraine war is winding down, and blasts the West for backing Kyiv

Russian President Vladimir Putin talks to the media following his meetings with foreign delegations at the Kremlin in Moscow. Photo / Ramil Sitdikov, AFP

Russian President Vladimir Putin said the war in Ukraine was nearing an end, while slamming Western support for Kyiv, as the first day of a United States-brokered ceasefire was marked by mutual accusations of violations.

Putin spoke after telling soldiers at a scaled-down parade in Moscow that they were fighting an “aggressive force” in Ukraine, backed by all of Nato and describing his war goals as “just”.

The Russian leader has made the memory of the Soviet victory over Nazi Germany in World War II a central narrative of his 25-year rule and repeatedly invoked it to justify his Ukraine offensive.

Russian authorities typically mark the Victory Day parade with pomp and grandeur. But a spate of Ukrainian long-range attacks in recent weeks prompted the Kremlin to ramp up security measures and downsize this year’s celebrations.

When asked after the parade whether the Western military aid to Ukraine had gone too far, Putin said: “They started ratcheting up the confrontation with Russia, which continues to this day. I think [the conflict] is heading to an end but it’s still a serious matter.

“They spent months waiting for Russia to suffer a crushing defeat, for its statehood to collapse. It didn’t work out. And then they got stuck in that groove and now they can’t get out of it.”

Putin added he was ready to meet Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy only once all conditions for a potential peace agreement were settled. He said: “This should be the final point, not the negotiations themselves”.

After two failed attempts at truces this week by both Russia and Ukraine, US President Donald Trump announced that a three-day ceasefire between both sides would come into effect from Saturday local time.

Moscow and Kyiv traded accusations of violations, but no major strikes were reported, despite continued drone activity and civilian casualties on both sides.

The Kremlin said that as of now there were no plans to prolong the truce.

The warring sides also agreed to swap 1000 prisoners each during the truce. But Putin said that Russia had not yet received any proposals from Ukraine on the exchange.

The victory parade was vastly smaller compared to previous years, with no military hardware on display for the first time in nearly two decades and only a handful of foreign dignitaries in attendance - most of them leaders of Russia’s close allies.

In an address to the parade, attended by Russian military units as well as soldiers from North Korea, Putin invoked the Soviet victory to rally support for his Army in Ukraine.

He said: “The great feat of the generation of victors inspires the soldiers carrying out the goals of the special military operation today. They are confronting an aggressive force armed and supported by the entire Nato bloc. And despite this, our heroes move forward.

“I firmly believe that our cause is just.”

The speech drew a cool reception from some in Moscow, with internet outages and fatigue over the four-year war casting a shadow over the events.

Russia has introduced intermittent internet shutdowns for the duration of the parade, citing increased threats from Ukrainian attacks.

When asked how she felt on Victory Day, 36-year-old economist Elena replied: “Nothing. I need the internet, and I don’t have it.”

US-mediated talks on ending the fighting have shown little progress since February, when Washington shifted focus to its war against Iran.

- AFP