Russian President Vladimir Putin in Bishkek, Kyrgyzstan, on November 27, 2025.Image: keystone
November 27, 2025, 8:00 p.mNovember 27, 2025, 8:00 p.m
According to his own words, Russian President Vladimir Putin is prepared to put down in writing the renunciation of an attack against Europe as part of diplomatic negotiations. It is “complete nonsense” to claim that Russia is planning to invade Europe, Putin said in the Kyrgyz capital Bishkek. “The truth is that we never intended to do that, but if they want to hear it from us, well, then we’ll fix it.”
The Kremlin chief paid a state visit to the Central Asian Republic of Kyrgyzstan and took part in a summit of the defense alliance Collective Security Treaty Organization (CSTO). At the end of the trip he answered questions from Russian journalists. He commented on the efforts to end the war in Ukraine, but maintained his tough stance in detail. The topics at a glance:
Visit from US negotiator Witkoff confirmed
Putin emphasized a general willingness to hold peace talks. He confirmed the visit of US representatives to Moscow in the first days of next week. On the Russian side, representatives of the Foreign Ministry and the Presidential Administration should take part in the negotiations. According to the Kremlin, US President Donald Trump’s special envoy, Steve Witkoff, is expected in Moscow.
U.S. negotiator Steve Witkoff speaks at the America Business Forum in Miami on Thursday, November 6, 2025.Image: keystone
Witkoff recently came under criticism for allegedly being too close to Russia. This was based on a recording of a telephone call with Moscow that was leaked to the Bloomberg news agency. Putin defended the US negotiator: “He is an American citizen and defends the position of his president and his country.”
Before ceasefire: conquest of Donbass
Putin once again cited full Russian control over the Donetsk and Luhansk regions in Donbass as a basic prerequisite for an agreement. «Ukraine’s troops will withdraw from the territories they hold, then the fighting will stop. If they don’t withdraw, we will do so through military means,” he said. Trump has also suggested that Ukraine vacate these areas. Kyiv rejects this.
Russian troops on the advance
Putin reported that his troops had come within one or two kilometers of the city of Huliaipole after breaking through the front in the Zaporizhzhia region of southern Ukraine. The Ukrainian side had previously admitted significant problems with Hulyajpole. However, the Russian advance on the outskirts of the city was stopped and the situation was controllable again.
A Ukrainian civil defense officer in front of an apartment block damaged by a Russian airstrike in the eastern Ukrainian city of Kharkiv.Image: keystone
Despite Ukrainian denials, Putin again claimed that the city of Kupyansk in the Kharkiv region had been captured. Woltschansk on the Russian border, which has been fought over since 2024, is also on the verge of being conquered. In the Donetsk region, the cities of Pokrovsk and Myrnohrad are surrounded. The Ukrainian military admits difficulties on these front lines, but rejects the Russian account.
Negotiations with the USA about recognition of Russian territory
A journalist asked Putin about a passage in the US peace plan according to which the US only wanted to de facto recognize Russian control over Crimea and other Ukrainian areas. “That is exactly what should be the subject of our discussions with the American side,” said Putin. It is one of the key questions. Russia has declared the Crimean peninsula and the administrative regions of Luhansk, Donetsk, Zaporizhzhia and Kherson to be its national territory. It has so far been unsuccessful in insisting that this be recognized internationally.
Putin does not yet want to sign any possible agreements with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky.Image: keystone
No contracts with the current leadership in Kyiv
Putin once again refused to sign possible agreements with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky. “The Ukrainian leadership made a fundamental, strategic mistake when it feared presidential elections, because since then the president has lost his legitimate status,” he said. Kiev points out that according to Ukrainian law, voting is not permitted under martial law.
Russia has been waging a war of aggression against its neighboring country for more than three and a half years. (sda/dpa)