Putin says Russia ready for peace talks as fuel shortages hit war effort

Russian President Vladimir Putin told reporters that Moscow is prepared to resume peace negotiations with Ukraine, citing the need to address the damage to oil infrastructure and logistics caused by recent Ukrainian strikes. He said the country is facing fuel shortages after drone attacks on refineries and that bridges to occupied territories have been targeted by missiles.

"Russia, as has been stated repeatedly, is ready for peace negotiations with Ukraine," Putin said, adding that Moscow is willing to proceed on the basis of the agreements reached in Istanbul, which were initiated by the Ukrainian delegation.

Kremlin spokesman Yuri Ushakov said the United States has not fully upheld its part of the understanding reached at the 2023 Anchorage summit, which he described as an arrangement allowing Russia to retain a portion of Ukrainian territory in exchange for peace. Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov suggested the summit may have been a U.S. tactic to buy time for re-arming Kyiv, while Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Ryabkov accused Washington of abandoning the “fundamental understandings” reached in Alaska.

The Kremlin also reported that Russian-installed officials in Crimea have imposed temporary measures, including reduced public transport hours and early closures of shops and cafés, in response to ongoing Ukrainian air attacks.

Ukrainian officials have not commented on the specific peace proposal, and Western governments have continued to provide military and economic support to Kyiv.