News Analysis [:] Russia’s Strategy Against the West: Escalate Slowly and See if It Responds

 

Vladimir Putin suggests Ukraine war is ‘coming to an end’ Russian president damns western support that has allowed Ukraine to hold out and asks for talks with Gerhard Schröder in remarks after diminished Victory Day parade Guardian staff and agencies Sat 9 May 2026 20.52 EDT Share Prefer the Guardian on Google Vladimir Putin has said he thinks the Ukraine war is winding down – remarks that came a few hours after he had vowed to defeat Ukraine at Moscow’s most scaled-back Victory Day parade in years. “I think that the matter is coming to an end,” Putin told reporters of the Russia-Ukraine war, Europe’s deadliest conflict since the second world war. He said he would be willing to negotiate new security arrangements for Europe, and that his preferred negotiating partner would be Germany’s former chancellor Gerhard Schröder. Putin, who has ruled Russia as president or prime minister since the last day of 1999, faces a wave of anxiety in Moscow about the war in Ukraine, which has killed hundreds of thousands of people, left swathes of Ukraine in ruins, and drained Russia’s economy. Russia’s relations with Europe are worse than at any time since the depths of the cold war. Russian forces have so far been unable to take the whole of the Donbas region of eastern Ukraine where Kyiv’s forces have been pushed back to a line of fortress cities. Russian advances have slowed this year, though Moscow controls just under one-fifth of Ukrainian territory. Putin shown on a large video screen speaking at a lectern, below which a military band stands to attention as a soldier looks on in the foreground Russia will always be victorious, says Putin at scaled-back Victory Day parade Read more Speaking on Saturday, Putin slammed western support for Kyiv, as the first day of a Russia-Ukraine ceasefire was marked by mutual accusations of violations. “They [the west] started ratcheting up the confrontation with Russia, which continues to this day. “I think it [the war] is heading to an end but it’s still a serious matter. “They spent months waiting for Russia to suffer a crushing defeat, for its statehood to collapse. It didn’t work out. “And then they got stuck in that groove and now they can’t get out of it.” Putin added that he was ready to meet Volodymyr Zelenskyy, in a third country only once all conditions for a potential peace agreement were settled – holding to his usual position on a meeting with his Ukrainian counterpart. “This should be the final point, not the negotiations themselves,” he said. Asked if he was willing to engage in talks with the Europeans, Putin said: “For me personally, the former chancellor of the Federal Republic of Germany, Mr Schröder, is preferable.” Germans pining for Gerhard Schröder forget his errors and ties to Putin. The SPD needs a fresh approach Katja Hoyer Katja Hoyer Read more Many in Ukraine and Europe will be sceptical of involving Schröder given his background as a close friend of Putin and history of ties to Russian business and projects, such as the Nord Stream gas pipelines. In 2022, after the war broke out, Volodymyr Zelenskyy, Ukraine’s president, called Schröder “disgusting” for meeting with Putin and speaking in the Russian ruler’s favour. Russia, Ukraine and Donald Trump on Friday announced that a three-day ceasefire between both sides would come into effect from Saturday. Moscow and Kyiv traded accusations of violations amid continued drone activity and civilian casualties on both sides. The Kremlin said there were no plans to prolong the truce. The warring sides also agreed to swap 1,000 prisoners each during the truce. Putin said on Saturday that Russia had not yet received any proposals from Ukraine on the exchange. Russian servicemen fire artillery pieces during Victory Day in St Petersburg. View image in fullscreen Russian servicemen fire artillery pieces during Victory Day in St Petersburg. Photograph: Anatoly Maltsev/EPA The Victory Day parade was vastly smaller compared to previous years, with no military hardware on display for the first time in nearly two decades and only a handful of foreign dignitaries in attendance – most of them leaders of Russia’s close allies. In the week prior there had been clear notes of desperation from the Russian side that the parade not be disturbed by Ukrainian attacks. Moscow threatened to bomb the centre of Kyiv including foreign embassies, warning overseas missions to evacuate their staff. For his part, Zelenskyy – after earlier issuing a “decree” allowing the Moscow parade to go ahead – observed Saturday as Europe Day, which is celebrated as a foundational day of the EU. He said Ukraine was an “inseparable part of the European family”. Empty grandstand on Red Square Ukraine war briefing: Zelenskyy ‘hereby decrees’ Moscow can hold Victory Day parade Read more “From the first days of the full-scale war until today, Europe has stood with Ukraine,” Zelenskyy said. “And this is not charity – it is a choice made by Europeans: to stand on the same side as the brave and the strong.” Only the leaders of Belarus, Malaysia, Laos, Uzbekistan and Kazakhstan were listed as attending Putin’s parade, in contrast to high-profile visitors including China’s Xi Jinping during last year’s event. Now in its fifth year, the war has killed hundreds of thousands of people and spiralled into Europe’s deadliest since the second world war. The European Council president, António Costa, said last week that he believed there was “potential” for the EU to negotiate with Russia, and to discuss the future of the security architecture of Europe. With Reuters and Agence France-Presse Our annual appeal to defend press freedom 15,785 of 60,000 acts of support At this dangerous time We hope you appreciated this article. Before you close this tab, we want to ask if you could support our annual press freedom appeal at this dangerous time for journalism in the US. According to a leading global watchdog, American democracy is now more imperiled than at any point since the 1960s, marked by a precipitous decline in press freedom – driven by mounting pressure from the Trump administration in the form of threats, criminal investigations, politicized regulation, frivolous lawsuits and, for public media, catastrophic funding cuts. Meanwhile, organizations that are supposed to be independent like the FBI and the FCC, our radio and television regulator, have also been targeting press freedom under Trump-aligned leadership, with the FBI raiding a reporter’s home and the FCC threatening ABC’s TV licenses after Jimmy Kimmel made a joke about Melania Trump. The response from some ultra-wealthy and corporate media owners, keen to appease the president, has been chilling: CBS News has been taken over by a Trump ally; CNN is poised to be taken over by the same billionaire; Jeff Bezos has continued to impose cuts and editorial interventions at the Washington Post; and multiple outlets have settled multimillion-dollar lawsuits from the administration to protect their business interests. Democracy is best served by a robust, thriving free press. But when that freedom is under attack, it falls to a determined few news organizations to ensure the full truth still reaches the public. Owned neither by a billionaire nor a corporation, the Guardian remains dedicated to covering this administration with uncompromising moral and factual clarity – and to keeping trustworthy journalism paywall-free for the world. Despite the risks of maintaining our fierce independence, what sustains us – and fills us with deep gratitude – is the unwavering support we’ve seen from readers. It is no exaggeration to say that we are here because of you: a majority of our funding comes directly from people like you responding to messages like this. Your support not only powers our work, but more importantly, it safeguards the financial independence that underpins our editorial freedom and courage. In honor of World Press Freedom Day this month, we’re looking for 60,000 readers to support our annual appeal with $5 or more. Do you have the means to be one of them? We’re especially grateful for anyone able to set up a monthly contribution: reliable funding is vital for sustaining us throughout this dangerous period, right to its end. We would be hugely grateful for your backing to mark this global day of solidarity for independent journalism. Anything you can spare goes directly toward our work – not into the pockets of a billionaire or corporation with other interests at heart. It takes less than a minute. Thank you for protecting the truly free press. Support $5/monthly Recommended Support $15/monthly Unlock All-access digital benefits: Far fewer asks for support Ad-free reading on all your devices Unlimited access to the premium Guardian app Regular dispatches from the newsroom to see the impact of your support Unlimited access to Feast, the Guardian recipe app Support once from just $1 Continue Remind me in June Accepted payment methods: Visa, Mastercard, American Express and PayPal Explore more on these topics Russia Ukraine Europe Vladimir Putin news Share Reuse this content Most viewed WorldEuropeUS newsAmericasAsiaAustraliaMiddle EastAfricaInequalityGlobal development News Opinion Sport Culture Lifestyle Original reporting and incisive analysis, direct from the Guardian every morning Sign up for our email About us Help Complaints & corrections Contact us Tip us off SecureDrop Privacy policy Cookie policy Tax strategy Terms & conditions All topics All writers Newsletters Digital newspaper archive Bluesky Facebook Instagram LinkedIn Threads TikTok YouTube Advertise with us Guardian Labs Search jobs Work with us Accessibility settings Back to top © 2026 Guardian News & Media Limited or its affiliated companies. All rights reserved. (dcr) Our annual press freedom appeal