Putin says Russia is not in a position to declare a ceasefire in Ukraine

President Vladimir Putin said on Thursday that Russia would not declare a ceasefire in Ukraine until Kyiv takes steps that are “irreversible” and acceptable to Moscow.

Putin said last month that Russia would end the war in Ukraine only if Kyiv agreed to drop its NATO ambitions and hand over the entirety of four provinces claimed by Moscow, demands Kyiv swiftly rejected as tantamount to surrender.

Putin also said that he had seen fragments of the debate between Joe Biden and Donald Trump but that he had enough of his own work to attend to, and added that the United States remained a great power.

Asked about Trump’s suggestion that the war in Ukraine could be ended swiftly, Putin said that Russia took him seriously.