Putin Says Russia Ready for Ukraine Talks, Rejects Short Ceasefire

ERBIL (Kurdistan24) - Russian President Vladimir Putin said Moscow is prepared to resume three-way negotiations with Ukraine and the United States, but insisted that the talks should seek a final security settlement rather than a temporary ceasefire, as Ukraine accused Russia of showing no change in its approach after fresh deadly strikes.

Putin said Thursday that negotiations should address security arrangements for both Russia and Ukraine as part of an eventual comprehensive agreement.

"The goal of these discussions will be to address the issue of ensuring security for both Ukraine and Russia," Putin told Russian state television, adding that the objective should be a final deal rather than "some kind of short pause in fighting."

His comments followed talks in St. Petersburg with U.S. President Donald Trump's envoy Steve Witkoff, who has been working to restart direct negotiations involving Moscow, Kyiv and Washington.

Witkoff described his meeting with Putin as constructive but acknowledged that significant work remained. Technical-level discussions between the three sides are expected to continue.

Previous rounds of trilateral talks over the past 18 months have failed to bridge fundamental differences between Russia and Ukraine.

Moscow wants Ukraine to withdraw from areas of the eastern Donetsk region still under Kyiv's control and has demanded restrictions on Ukraine's armed forces and its relationships with Western military alliances.

Ukraine rejects those conditions, arguing they would amount to capitulation and leave the country vulnerable to another Russian attack.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has nevertheless supported renewed trilateral negotiations.

But Kyiv questioned Moscow's intentions after Russian forces launched another large-scale attack shortly after the Putin-Witkoff meeting.

AFP reporter Genya Savilov reported that ballistic missile strikes hit Kyiv and other parts of Ukraine overnight.

Two people were killed and more than 30 wounded in Kyiv, according to city authorities. Two women, aged 50 and 60, were also killed when a crowded market in Lozova was struck, while dozens were wounded.

Zelensky said the latest attacks demonstrated that Moscow had made no substantive change in its conduct of the war.

"This means there has been no real change in its attitude towards everything that is happening," he said.

The Associated Press, in reporting by Derek Gatopoulos, said Ukrainian authorities reported at least four deaths across the country as attacks struck 12 regions.

Zelensky said Kyiv was targeted by 21 ballistic missiles in three waves, damaging residential buildings, energy facilities, transport infrastructure and businesses.

Ukraine also launched a major drone attack against Russia.

Russia's Defense Ministry said its air defenses intercepted 808 Ukrainian drones, including 630 directed toward Moscow. Two people were reported wounded in Russia, while airports around the capital temporarily restricted operations.

The competing attacks came as Washington renewed efforts to find a diplomatic route out of a war that began with Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022.

Trump has suggested negotiators may be closer than before to an agreement, but substantial differences remain.

Zelensky has also criticized what he sees as reduced pressure on Moscow and has repeatedly called for additional Patriot air-defense interceptors as Russia increases missile attacks ahead of winter.

Moscow, meanwhile, maintains that negotiations must address what it regards as the underlying security questions surrounding the conflict.

Putin's latest comments therefore leave the door open to renewed diplomacy while making clear that Russia is not proposing a simple pause in hostilities.

For Kyiv, the continuing missile attacks remain central to its assessment of whether those negotiations can produce meaningful progress.