Putin rejects compromises over the Donbas and tells European leaders that Russia is maintaining its objective in Ukraine

Vladimir Putin does not intend to abandon Russia’s objective of conquering the entire Donbas region, which includes the Donetsk and Luhansk areas, and is unwilling to accept compromises that do not align with Moscow’s interests, according to Reuters, cited by UNN. The information was conveyed by a source close to the Kremlin.

The source says Putin told Finnish President Alexander Stubb and Norwegian Prime Minister Jonas Gahr Store that Russia would make no concessions regarding control over the entire Donbas. The two European leaders insisted that any agreement must lead to a “just” peace.

Stubb and Gahr Store spoke by phone on Tuesday with the Kremlin leader about the war in Ukraine, in a conversation described by the Finnish side as “frank and substantive.” Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said he had been informed by the two leaders about the discussion.

According to the same source, French President Emmanuel Macron was the last European Union leader to speak by phone with Putin, in July. The conversation was not publicly announced and produced no concrete results.

The Kremlin maintains that lasting peace is possible only if Russia’s “legitimate interests” are fully and unconditionally respected. Danish Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen criticized dialogue with Putin, saying there are no indications that Moscow wants peace.