Putin Claims Ukraine War is ‘Heading to an End’ Amid Fragile US-Brokered Ceasefire

Russian President Vladimir Putin announced on Saturday that the war in Ukraine is “heading to an end,” even as the first day of a US-brokered ceasefire was marred by mutual accusations of violations. Speaking after a scaled-down Victory Day parade in Moscow, Putin maintained that Russia’s war goals are “just” while slamming Western military support for Kyiv.

A Fragile Truce and Mutual Accusations

The current ceasefire, brokered by US President Donald Trump, went into effect on Saturday following two previous failed attempts at truces earlier in the week. Trump described the move on Truth Social as “hopefully… The beginning of the end of a very long, deadly and hard fought War.”

Despite the diplomatic effort, the truce has been unstable. Both Moscow and Kyiv have traded accusations of violations. While France 24 reports that no major strikes have occurred, drone activity continues and civilian casualties have been reported on both sides.

Central to the ceasefire is a planned exchange of 1,000 prisoners from each side. However, the process faces hurdles; Putin noted on Saturday that Russia has yet to receive any proposals from Ukraine regarding the exchange. The Kremlin has further indicated there are currently no plans to prolong the three-day truce.

A Scaled-Down Victory Day Parade

The annual Victory Day celebrations, which commemorate the Soviet victory over Nazi Germany in World War II, were notably subdued this year. Due to a recent surge in Ukrainian long-range attacks, the Kremlin implemented heightened security and significantly reduced the scale of the event.

For the first time in nearly twenty years, the parade featured no military hardware. Attendance by foreign leaders also plummeted compared to previous years. While last year’s event saw high-profile guests like China’s Xi Jinping, this year’s list was limited to the leaders of:

• Belarus
• Kazakhstan
• Uzbekistan
• Laos
• Malaysia

In his address to the troops, which included soldiers from North Korea, Putin invoked the legacy of the “generation of victors” to rally his army, claiming they are confronting an “aggressive force” supported by the entire NATO bloc.

Domestic Tension and Geopolitical Shifts

The atmosphere in Moscow reflected a growing sense of war fatigue. To mitigate threats from Ukrainian attacks, the Russian government introduced intermittent internet shutdowns during the parade. This move sparked frustration among residents; one Moscow economist told AFP that she skipped the parade because she lacked the internet access she needed for her work.

The conflict, now in its fifth year, has become Europe’s deadliest since World War II, resulting in hundreds of thousands of deaths. While the US has mediated talks, progress has stalled since February, a period when Washington shifted its strategic focus toward its conflict with Iran.

The Path to Potential Negotiations

When questioned about Western military aid, Putin argued that the West “started ratcheting up the confrontation with Russia” and spent months hoping for a Russian collapse that “didn’t work out.”

Regarding a potential diplomatic resolution, Putin expressed a willingness to meet Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky in a third country. However, he set a strict condition: such a meeting should be the “final point” of the process, occurring only after all conditions for a peace agreement have already been settled, rather than serving as the start of negotiations.