At a news conference following a Kyrgyzstan summit, Putin declared Russia is winning the war in Ukraine and reiterated that negotiations with Ukraine’s leadership—whom he called terrorists—are not possible, while leaving room for momentum in talks at a future time.

He acknowledged Ukrainian attacks inside Russia have caused real damage and highlighted drones as a key challenge, while insisting Russian battlefield advances are accelerating.

He defended Russia’s protection of its oil infrastructure, noting improvements and stating only about 10% of refineries remain to be repaired despite ongoing drone strikes.

Putin rejected German accusations tying Russia to a drone attack on Leipzig airport, accusing Berlin of using the claim to distract from domestic issues and slipping approval ratings.

Zelenskiy warned that Russian airspace would be unsafe for airlines and heavily populated with Ukrainian drones for the duration of the war, urging airlines, insurers, and travelers to heed the warning.

He said Russia was advancing on the battlefield, expected the enemy to crumble, and did not provide a timeline for when that would happen.

Putin dismissed rumors of a new mobilization as nonsense and cited territorial gains in Donetsk as part of a broader advance toward Sloviansk and Kramatorsk.

He cited territorial gains—roughly a fifth of Ukraine under Russian control—and said Russia is preparing massive strikes against Ukraine’s energy infrastructure.

Russia announced preparations for extensive strikes on Ukraine’s energy infrastructure as part of its ongoing operations.

Putin criticized Zelensky’s airspace warning as state terrorism and said Moscow would respond if the plan materialized, while signaling openness to concrete talks if momentum could be found.

He said Russia would consider negotiating only if a party can meaningfully contribute to ending the war rather than freezing it, and reiterated openness to talks with U.S. envoy efforts and, indirectly, with representatives connected to Trump.