Putin Hints War Could Be Ending, but Analysts Urge Caution

Russian President Vladimir Putin has suggested that his country's war with Ukraine may be 'coming to an end', while criticizing the West for prolonging the conflict through military aid to Kyiv.

Speaking after Victory Day celebrations in Moscow on Sunday (10/5/2026), Putin expressed readiness for direct dialogue with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, either in Moscow or a neutral country.

The remarks come as Russia and Ukraine both observe a three-day ceasefire brokered by the United States and continue discussions on prisoner exchanges. However, broader peace talks remain stalled, and both sides continue to carry out attacks. Ukrainian officials said Russian strikes on Sunday killed at least three people, with nearly 150 frontline clashes in the past 24 hours.

What did Putin say?

'I think the issue is coming to an end,' Putin told reporters about the Russia-Ukraine war, the bloodiest conflict in Europe since World War II.

But the Russian leader added that he would only meet Zelensky after the terms of a peace deal have been agreed. The Kremlin previously rejected an offer from U.S. President Donald Trump in August 2025 to hold a three-way meeting with Zelensky, Putin and Trump.

'This must be the end, not negotiations,' Putin said after Victory Day, which marks Russia's victory over Nazi Germany in 1945.

Putin said he was ready to negotiate new security arrangements with Europe, and said his preferred negotiating partner was former German Chancellor Gerhard Schroeder. Schroeder has been heavily criticized for his close ties to the Russian leader and became chairman of a controversial Russian-German pipeline company after leaving office in 2005.

Russia has accused the West of expanding the NATO security alliance to encircle Moscow, and Putin cited this as one of the reasons for launching a special military operation in February 2022. He called NATO expansion a 'matter of life and death' for Russia.

Asked whether Western military support for Ukraine had gone too far, Putin said: 'They began to escalate confrontation with Russia, and that continues to this day.' He added: 'Western countries spent months waiting for Russia to suffer a catastrophic defeat, waiting for the Russian state to collapse. But that did not happen.'

Why is Putin talking about ending the war now?

According to Keir Giles, an analyst at Chatham House, Putin's suggestion that the war could be ending is driven more by global 'hope and optimism' than a sober reading of his remarks. Giles noted that there have been 'many promises over the past 18 months that the war is about to end', but 'none of them have come true'.

Giles warned against interpreting Putin's statement as a reliable sign that the conflict is actually nearing a resolution. 'The best we can hope is that Putin now realizes Russia is not actually winning the war,' he said, suggesting Putin may be 'more willing to suspend the war than before, when he rejected all of Trump's peace efforts because he believed Russia could gain more by fighting'.

The war has claimed tens of thousands of lives on both sides, devastated large parts of eastern Ukraine, and drained Russia's $3 trillion economy. Western sanctions have also hit Russia's economy. Relations between Moscow and Europe are at their worst since the Cold War.

Putin's remarks coincide with renewed U.S.-led efforts to push both sides toward at least temporary ceasefires and humanitarian agreements. Trump on Friday endorsed the latest three-day ceasefire, hoping it could become 'the beginning of the end' of the war.

A deal remains elusive as Russia insists on full control of the Donbas region and opposes Ukraine joining NATO, while Kyiv refuses to cede any territory and demands security guarantees as part of any agreement.