Russian President Vladimir Putin has rejected Kiev’s proposals to limit the use of long-range missiles and halt hostilities, saying Russia will continue its more than four-year war with Ukraine.
President Putin said in an interview on Russian state television on Sunday that Ukraine had proposed a mutual cessation of long-range attacks as a step toward peace. But the Russian president suggested the proposal was made because Kiev’s forces are under pressure along a 1,250-kilometre (775-mile) front.
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“It is clear why this proposal was made, because our counterattack deep into the territory of Ukraine will be more powerful, more impactful and, frankly, more destructive,” Putin said.
“Given the catastrophic manpower shortage, the Ukrainian military apparently believes this will be a relief. But saving the Kiev regime is not part of our plans,” he added.
Ukrainian officials have not yet commented publicly on Putin’s remarks, including the Russian leader’s claim that Kiev sent a proposal to curb the use of long-range missiles.
President Putin acknowledged that Russia needs to increase its air defense capabilities to counter an escalation in Ukrainian drone attacks targeting Russia’s oil industry in recent months.
What is behind President Putin’s reported rejection of Kiev’s proposal, and what does this mean for peace negotiations?
Here’s what we know:
What is the situation on the battlefield?
Putin made the comments as Ukraine continues to step up its attacks on Russia.
President Volodymyr Zelenskiy said Sunday that Ukrainian forces attacked Russia’s Slavyansk and Yaroslavl oil refineries overnight, about 300 kilometers and 700 kilometers (190 miles and 435 miles) respectively from the front lines, with long-range drones.
A fire broke out at an oil refinery in Slavyansk-on-Kubani in Russia’s Krasnodar region, leaving several homes damaged by debris, Governor Veniamin Kondratyev reported on Telegram. He said one person was killed in Ukraine’s Russian-occupied region just east of Crimea.
“We continue operations to weaken Russia’s ability to wage this war,” Zelenskiy wrote in Sunday’s X, adding that each attack “means fewer resources available to Russia’s war machine.”
Ukraine’s attack on a Russian oil refinery is the latest in a series of attacks on Russian energy facilities that have gathered pace in recent weeks.
Last week, Ukraine used long-range drones to attack two oil facilities in the Caucasus ports of Kerch and Krasnodar in Crimea. Both are used to deliver fuel to the Russian front lines. Power plants were also damaged, and fuel sales were suspended in Crimea.
Yaroslavl Governor Mikhail Evlaev also reported on Telegram on Sunday that areas northeast of Moscow were under attack by Ukrainian drones, and said exits to the capital, also named Yaroslavl, had been temporarily closed.
Meanwhile, in Belgorod Oblast, located on the border in northeastern Ukraine, one new person was killed in the Shebekinsky district as a result of 64 drone strikes by the Ukrainian military in 24 hours, Russia’s TASS news agency reported.
Alexander Hinstein, governor of the neighboring Kursk region, said Russia had shot down “a total of 117 enemy drones of various types.” “Drones have dropped explosives on our territory seven times.”
At least four people were killed in a Russian attack on Ukraine on Sunday, local officials said. Two of the dead were in the southeastern city of Zaporizhia. The other two deaths were in Kharkiv, in northeastern Ukraine.
Why did President Putin refuse to limit the use of long-range missiles?
Putin’s veto comes as the Russian government is reportedly reeling from the impact of Ukraine’s drone attacks on its energy sector. But President Putin downplayed them on Sunday.
“All attacks, no matter where they strike our infrastructure, will never affect the situation on the front lines or on the lines of combat communication,” Putin said.
“They are trying to disrupt energy supplies and affect the tourist season. Their intentions are being openly communicated to us through various channels,” he added.
He said Russia’s immediate challenge is to “quickly and significantly increase production of the most needed air defense systems.”
In fact, Russia is significantly more capable of long-range attacks, Ian Lesser, a distinguished researcher at the German Marshall Fund in the United States, told Al Jazeera. It is therefore not surprising that President Putin would want to maintain this advantage and avoid any compromises on this front, at least for the time being, he said.
“Moscow will likely view its long-range strike capabilities as a deterrent, but perhaps it is even more important to him as Ukraine expands its ability to strike targets inside Russia at longer ranges,” Lesser added.
Ukrainian officials have not yet commented on the possibility of limiting long-range strikes, but in early June Zelensky wrote an open letter to Putin, proposing a meeting to discuss ending Moscow’s war against Kiev.
In his letter, President Zelensky told Putin that he had spent almost half of his 26 years in power in Russia fighting a “war against Ukraine,” and that even the Russian people were now becoming increasingly fed up with Ukraine’s missile and drone attacks, inflation and fuel shortages.
He pointed out that while the United States is focused on the war against Iran, “it would be a mistake to just wait until the war in Europe comes back into focus,” suggesting a path to peace.
“Ukraine proposes to end this war through direct engagement between us and you. I propose talks. … Unless you come to a personal conclusion that it is time to end this war, Ukraine will continue to fight for its survival,” he added.
President Putin said he rejected the proposal.
Has Russia ever sought limits on long-range missiles?
yes. In September 2024, President Putin warned that if the West allowed Ukraine to use long-range weapons to attack Russia, it would show that NATO was also “at war” with the country.
“This will significantly change the very nature of the conflict. It will mean that NATO countries, the United States and European countries are at war with Russia,” Putin told Russian state television.
But in November 2024, Kiev received permission from the United States and NATO to begin firing long-range missiles into Russian territory, provided by countries such as Britain, France and the United States.
The move comes as the Russian government steps up its offensive on Kiev and after deploying North Korean troops to Russia’s Kursk region, which was invaded by Ukrainian forces in August 2024. They occupied vast swathes of territory before being forced across the border in 2025.
Despite Kiev’s use of long-range missiles, Russia has not declared war on NATO.
What is your position on peace negotiations?
Since starting his second term in January 2025, US President Donald Trump has promised to end Russia’s war in Ukraine.
He has held separate meetings with Presidents Putin and Zelensky to discuss ending the war, but these efforts have so far been fruitless.
In May, the leaders of Britain, France, Germany and Poland met with President Zelensky in Kiev in a show of solidarity, a day after Putin invited the allies to a Victory Day parade on Red Square celebrating the victory over Nazi Germany in World War II.
President Putin strongly opposes European leaders’ involvement in ceasefire negotiations.
“How can the EU or individual EU states act as intermediaries when directly supporting countries in armed conflict?” he asked journalists in St. Petersburg this month.
Ceasefire negotiations have largely stalled as Russia insists on holding on to the territory it has captured in Ukraine. Ukraine said it was not prepared to cede any territory.
In recent days, President Putin has issued mixed messages about when or with whom he is ready to resume talks.
On Tuesday, President Putin said Moscow was ready to resume negotiations. But he said these would be based on proposals for negotiations to be held in Istanbul in 2022, including Russia’s demand for Ukraine to surrender the eastern region of Donbas, which is now largely under Russian occupation.
On Sunday, President Putin said Moscow looked forward to a resumption of Washington-led diplomatic efforts to end the war. He said U.S. special envoys Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner were also scheduled to visit Moscow once the “hot phase” of the U.S.-Israel war against Iran is resolved.
But he also acknowledged that there was no agreement to end the war when he met Trump in Alaska in August, and suggested that Russia’s ally Belarus could help in future peace efforts.
Lesser said Putin’s refusal to limit the use of long-range missiles is a further sign of his unwillingness to engage in serious negotiations to end or limit the war, at least as it currently stands.
“Russia does not want to suggest weakness not only in its relations with Ukraine, but also in its relations with NATO,” he said.
