“Putin has not made any final decision” on his approach to peace talks, said Sergei Markov, a former Kremlin adviser. “He would prefer not to pay the high price of pursuing the offensive but he’s even less willing to pay such a high price for a peace agreement that’s not in Russia’s interests.”

President Vladimir Putin is willing to talk with US President-elect Donald Trump about a cease-fire deal in Ukraine that could roughly freeze the war along current front lines, Reuters reported, citing five unidentified,

Putin has ruled out any significant territorial concessions and demands that Kyiv abandon its NATO membership ambitions.