Putin says Russia wanted to return to talks, but Ukraine struck the elections

Russian President Vladimir Putin said that after Russia's parliamentary elections, Moscow had planned to resume talks with Ukraine, but the Ukrainian side struck polling stations and attempted to attack Moscow. Putin made the statement on Friday, Russia's TASS news agency reported.

"All options for a peaceful settlement are on the table, but Russia first needs to weigh what serves its interests," the Kremlin chief said.

Ceasefire conditions and Kyiv's position

According to Putin, Russia has recovered from the damage caused by Ukrainian strikes and has responded to them so forcefully that Kyiv is now asking for a ceasefire. Ukraine has long proposed halting hostilities and starting negotiations, but Russia refuses to agree to a ceasefire during talks.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said this week, after meeting with US President Donald Trump, that Kyiv is ready for any form of energy and grain truce proposed by the White House chief. Moscow earlier called Trump's proposal interesting, while at the same time saying that in that case the anti-Russian sanctions would need to be lifted.

Strikes on infrastructure and marketplace warehouses

Ukraine, acting in self-defense, is attacking Russian oil refineries and oil-and-gas infrastructure, explaining this as an effort to cut off Russia's revenues needed to finance the war. Such strikes have caused fuel shortages in a number of Russian regions.

Ukrainian forces are also hitting warehouses of the online retailers Ozon and Wildberries — Kyiv explains this by saying these companies supply the Russian army with, among other things, drone components. Putin said Russia does not understand the point of these strikes.

Moscow's demands for a truce

Although Ukraine has repeatedly proposed immediately halting hostilities and sitting down at the negotiating table, Russia ties any possible truce to a number of conditions. Moscow demands international recognition of the annexation of occupied Ukrainian territories, and also insists on the handover of the whole of Donbas — including territory the Russian army has so far failed to capture.

Moscow also demands discussion of the "root causes" of the conflict — among which Russia lists Kyiv's intention to join NATO, as well as the overthrow of Ukraine's pro-Russian president Viktor Yanukovych in 2014.

Around Prague, based on reporting by seznamzpravy.cz