Russia ready to continue discussing Ukraine with US, Putin says

Bloomberg News on Jun 28, 2026

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The Kremlin expects U.S. negotiators Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner to travel to Moscow to continue talks on ending the war in Ukraine once Washington is no longer preoccupied with the conflict with Iran, Russian President Vladimir Putin said in an interview with state television.

“We’re ready to continue negotiations and discussion of the details and modalities — if not agreements, then at least the topics discussed in Anchorage,” he said, referring to talks with President Donald Trump last year.

Putin added that Moscow received new proposals to limit fighting in Ukraine: one to halt long-range strikes deep inside Russian and Ukrainian territory and another to confine fighting to just four occupied Ukrainian regions. The Russian leader said he rejected them because confining combat to those four areas would let Ukrainian forces redeploy troops from other sections of the front without saying who proposed them.

The White House did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

Kyiv has stepped up attacks on Russian energy infrastructure this year, seeking to turn the tide against Russia’s invasion. Ukraine has since intensified strikes on refineries, slowing processing and causing fuel shortages in Moscow and other regions. Average gasoline prices in Russia rose 3% in the week from June 16-22, according to official data, the biggest jump increase in at least 20 years.

Russians also face elevated borrowing costs after central bank governor Elvira Nabiullina signaled that there was little room for more interest-rate cuts and even suggested a yearlong easing cycle might be paused.

Ukrainian strikes on Russian infrastructure do not affect the situation on the front or the position along the contact line, Putin said, and he pledged to build more air defense systems to protect Russian energy infrastructure.

About 75% of Russia’s regions now have some form of fuel rationing or supply disruptions after the authorities of the Bryansk, Kursk, Lipetsk, Samara and Tyumen regions imposed restrictions on drivers.

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(With assistance from Skylar Woodhouse.)