Russian President Putin says Russia-Ukraine war may be nearing end after Victory Day celebrations

Russian President Vladimir Putin on Saturday (local time) said that he thought the Ukraine war was coming to an end, remarks that came just hours after he had vowed victory in Ukraine at Moscow's most scaled-back Victory Day parade in years.

Speaking to reporters, Putin said, "I think that the matter is coming to an end," and added that he would be willing to negotiate new security arrangements for Europe, and that his preferred negotiating partner would be Germany's former Chancellor Gerhard Schroeder, Reuters reported.

The Russian President was speaking in the Kremlin after setting out his view of the causes of the Ukraine war, which Moscow launched in February 2022. Blaming "globalist" Western leaders, Putin said they promised the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) would not expand eastward after the 1989 fall of the Berlin Wall, but then tried to draw Ukraine into the European Union's orbit.

His remarks came just hours after the parade on the May 9 national holiday celebrating the Soviet Union's victory over Nazi Germany in World War II. The annual event pays homage to the 27 million Soviet citizens who perished in that war.

Quoting Putin, AP reported, "We just described the situation to our friends, colleagues and partners: We don't have any intention to exacerbate or worsen relations with anyone, but it could happen because all control and decision-making centers in Kyiv are located close to diplomatic missions." He added, "When we started such a dialogue with the U.S. administration, we warned them about this, pointed out the possible consequences, and asked them to do everything necessary to ensure the security of their diplomatic mission.”

He further noted that Moscow welcomed the US President's offer to broker a ceasefire, which was driven by humanitarian motives and “respect for our common victory over Nazism.”

The Russian President added that he could meet Zelenskyy when a peace deal is ready for signing.

On Friday, Trump announced a three-day ceasefire between Russia and Ukraine, citing Victory Day celebrations.

He added, "This Ceasefire will include a suspension of all kinetic activity, and also a prison swap of 1,000 prisoners from each Country. This request was made directly by me, and I very much appreciate its agreement by President Vladimir Putin and President Volodymyr Zelenskyy. Hopefully, it is the beginning of the end of a very long, deadly, and hard-fought War. Talks are continuing on ending this Major Conflict, the biggest since World War II, and we are getting closer and closer every day."

So far, Russian forces haven't succeeded in taking the whole of the Donbas region of eastern Ukraine, where Kyiv's forces have been pushed back to a line of fortress cities. Russian advances have slowed this year, though Moscow controls just under one-fifth of Ukrainian territory.

Putin, who has ruled Moscow either as president or prime minister since the last day of 1999, is now facing a wave of anxiety in the country about the ongoing war in Kyiv, which has killed hundreds of thousands of people, left swathes of Ukraine in ruins, and drained Russia's $3 trillion economy.