- Category
- Latest news
Putin Never Intended to Stop War, Only Imitates Talks, Zelenskyy Says
- Authors
![Photo of Dariia Mykhailenko]( "Photo of Dariia Mykhailenko")
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said that Russian leader Putin has never intended to stop Russia’s war against Ukraine and only imitates negotiations to avoid stronger pressure from the United States, warning that Moscow’s growing revenues linked to instability in the Middle East could prolong the war.
Acording to Zelenskyy’s post on X on March 15, he made the remarks in an interview with CNN.
We bring you stories from the ground. Your support keeps our team in the field.
“Putin has never wanted to stop Russia's war against Ukraine. He has been afraid of President Trump and of pressure from the United States. That's why he has played this game, pretending he has wanted negotiations. I keep believing that America has to increase pressure on Putin. Otherwise, he will not negotiate in good faith. He only wants to put forward ultimatums to Ukraine, as his demand to withdraw from our territory,” Zelenskyy said.
He stressed that the Kremlin benefits financially from global instability, particularly tensions involving Iran and rising energy prices, which he said weaken the impact of sanctions.
“The situation around Iran brings him more money. The easing of sanctions imposed on Russia is also helpful for him. Our intelligence reports that due to all the sanctions imposed by the United States and the EU, and because of our deep strikes on Russian energy infrastructure, Russia faced a deficit of more than $100 billion in 2026 alone,” he said.
According to Zelenskyy, recent developments in the Middle East have already allowed Moscow to partially offset those losses, with Russia earning around $10 billion in just two weeks of the war in the region, which he said was dangerous because it gave Putin greater confidence to continue the war.
The president also warned about Russia’s cooperation with Iran, which he said has already affected security in the Middle East. According to him, Russia has provided Iran with drones and intelligence that were later used in attacks on US military facilities in the Middle East.
Zelenskyy said that Moscow supplied drones manufactured under Iranian licenses and that these systems were subsequently used by Iran in strikes targeting American bases as well as neighboring countries in the region.
“They use Iranian licenses under which they built and produced a large number of drones. They transferred them. I have 100% facts that the Iranian regime used them against American bases and against our Middle Eastern neighbors of Iran,” Zelenskyy said.
He added that Ukrainian intelligence has detected Russian-made components in some of the drones used in the attacks. According to Zelenskyy, Kyiv also received information from partner countries indicating that UAVs deployed by Iran contained parts produced in Russia.
On March 14, President Volodymyr Zelenskyy stated that Ukraine could deploy anti-drone warfare specialists to support partner countries in the Middle East amid the ongoing conflict involving Iran, and has also proposed a joint drone production initiative with the United States.
-29ed98e0f248ee005bb84bfbf7f30adf.jpg)
-72b63a4e0c8c475ad81fe3eed3f63729.jpeg "Photo of Cyril Barabaltchouk")
