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Russian President Vladimir Putin said Moscow has the "strength and means" to bring its unprovoked war on Ukraine to a "logical conclusion."
His comments in an interview with Russian state media come at a time when international efforts to stop hostilities in Ukraine have had limited success, more than three years after Putin launched his full-scale invasion.
"We have sufficient strength and means to bring what began in 2022 to a logical conclusion with the result that Russia seeks," Putin said, during an interview with state television.
In the interview, Putin said there would be “no need” to use nuclear weapons in the Ukraine conflict. Responding to a question about Ukraine’s attacks on Russia, he said: “There was no need to use those [nuclear] weapons... and I hope they won’t be necessary.”
In November, Putin signed a revised version of Russia's nuclear doctrine, which set out the circumstances under which it would use its nuclear arsenal, the world's largest. The document lowered the threshold for a nuclear strike in response to a wider range of conventional attacks.
On Monday, Putin announced a temporary three-day ceasefire starting on May 8 to mark the end of World War II. In response, Ukrainian Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha called for the ceasefire to last at least 30 days, echoing a proposal from Kiev that Moscow has rejected.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said on Friday that Russia's announcement of a unilateral 72-hour ceasefire is a "theatrical performance" and just an attempt to create a "mild atmosphere" ahead of Russia's celebrations.
Late Saturday, Zelensky said Kiev is "ready to move towards a ceasefire as soon as possible - even starting today - if Russia is ready to take reciprocal steps - to establish complete silence, a stable ceasefire of at least 30 days."
However, "currently, the intensity of Russian attacks indicates nothing other than Russia's desire to continue the fighting," Zelensky said in his daily address.
Putin, who has met four times in as many months with US President Donald Trump's special envoy, Steve Witkoff, continues to reject the US proposal to end the war, which would freeze the conflict along the current battle lines and thus give Russia significant territorial gains.
Meanwhile, the Kremlin said Chinese President Xi Jinping will pay an official visit to Russia from May 7 to 10 to participate in celebrations to mark the 80th anniversary of the defeat of Nazi Germany.
Bilateral talks during Xi's visit "will focus on key aspects of further advancing Russia-China relations," as well as "urgent issues on the international and regional agendas," the Kremlin said in a post on Telegram. The two leaders will sign a number of bilateral documents, it said.
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