Russia currently has no plans to seize Kharkiv, Putin stated

He says the offensive in the Kharkiv region is allegedly the fault of the Ukrainian authorities and a response to shelling of Russian regions.

“I have said publicly that if the shelling of Belgorod continues, we will be forced to create a sanitary zone,” Putin said.

The Russian dictator also said that the question of Vladimir Zelensky’s legitimacy matters to them if agreements to end the war are signed.

“For Russia, the question of Zelenskyy legitimacy matters; fateful documents should be signed with legitimate authorities,” Putin said.

And he said that the question of Zelenskyy legitimacy should be answered by Ukraine’s legal and political system.

 

Today, it was also reported that the majority of Russians are in favor of starting peace talks with Ukraine.

This is evidenced by a poll by the Levada Center.

51% of respondents were in favor of negotiations, and 39% were in favor of continuing the war.

The situation where the majority of respondents are in favor of peace talks has been in place for many months.