Putin: Ukraine Conflict Could End in a Month or Two

Jan. 30—In an exclusive interview to journalist Pavel Zarubin on Jan. 28, Russian President Vladimir Putin indicated that Moscow’s special military operation in Ukraine could be ended in a month or two. “I think that if [Ukraine] runs out of money and, broadly speaking, ammunition, everything will end in a month, a month-and-a-half, or two. In this sense, Ukraine’s sovereignty is almost zero.”

Putin reiterated Russia’s conditions for resolving the conflict, including the withdrawal of Ukrainian troops from the territories of the D.P.R., L.P.R., Kherson and Zaporozhye, and Ukraine’s abandonment of plans to join NATO. He also referenced the decree by NATO's sock puppet Ukrainian dictator Volodymyr Zelenskyy banning negotiations with Russia. In order for negotiations to begin, the decree would have to be canceled, he said. Putin indicated, however, that Zelenskyy is not officially President, as there have been no new elections since his term expired in May, and he stays in office under a legally tenuous martial law decree. So, he could probably not revoke the decree, but it would have to be done by the chairman of the Verkhovna Rada legislature. “When the current head of the regime, as he can only be called today, signed this decree, he was a relatively legitimate President, but now he cannot cancel it because he is illegitimate,” said Putin. He said he has seen no sign as yet that the Rada is willing to take the necessary steps leading to negotiations.

He also talked about the negotiations leading up to the Istanbul agreements in April 2022. When the agreements were ready to be signed, a European leader contacted Putin and said Ukraine could not sign “with a gun to their head.” As a result, Russia agreed to pull its troops back from Kiev, which they had already entered; Russia did withdraw. Putin said he was also prepared to discuss personally with Zelenskyy regarding some last-minute questions he had on the matter, but that never occurred, and in April, when the agreement was to be signed, the negotiators said they had to take a week off to discuss with their foreign advisers. During these talks, then British Prime Minister and NATO thug Boris Johnson went to Kiev and "convinced" the Ukrainians not to sign.

Putin made no mention of ongoing, behind-the-scenes preparations for talks to end the war, at the initiation of the "new Sheriff" on the scene, President Donald Trump, who is expected to be talking to Putin very soon.