Putin doesn’t rule out signing a deal with Zelenskiy

Russian President Vladimir Putin said that he did not rule out the possibility of signing a peace agreement with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy if an agreement is reached.

Putin has previously said that Zelenskiy is not a legitimate leader because he remained in office after his elected term ended.

Ukrainian law prohibits new elections from being held under martial law, which was put in place after Russia’s 2022 invasion.

Putin told foreign journalists in St Petersburg that if a peace agreement was reached, Russia would sign an agreement with legitimate Ukrainian representatives, perhaps even “with Zelenskyy”.

Putin also said on Thursday that he would strengthen Russia’s air defenses against the latest Ukrainian drone attacks that reached deep into his country.

He acknowledged the damage caused by drone strikes in Ukraine.

“Unfortunately, some of them broke,” Putin said of the drone attacks on his hometown of St Petersburg.

“Russia has an air defense system, we need to develop it, strengthen it, and we will do it.”

Putin stated that Russia is open to compromise on Ukraine in line with the agreements reached at the summit with US President Donald Trump in Alaska, and said that Ukraine must accept these in order to make an agreement.

with AP