Putin is no Longer Interested in negotiating with Ukraine

Recently, Financial Times reported that the President of Russia Vladimir Putin is no longer interested in negotiating with Ukraine and he just intends to seize as much territory as possible. Three sources closed to the matter informed the Financial Times that initially, the Russian President was open to a peace deal with Ukraine after Russian troops failed to achieve their objectives in the first few weeks of the conflict. However, they informed that his stance changed after the sinking of the Russian Moskva cruiser in the Black Sea this month, for which Ukraine was held accountable.

One source said, "There was hope for a deal. Putin was going back and forth. He needs to find a way to come out of this a winner. After the Moskva, he doesn't look like a winner because it was humiliating." The sources further told that the Russian President is not interested in meeting with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy.  Previously, the President of Ukraine has told that he is open to sitting down with his Russian counterpart. The sources told that In a phone call on Friday, Putin apparently told European Council President Charles Michel that it was "not the right time. He wants everything to be decided before their personal meeting."