Vladimir Putin not interested in ending Russia-Ukraine war; US says 'he won't compromise'

Amid the unrelenting Russia-led war on Ukraine, United States State Department officials have claimed Vladimir Putin does not appear to make visible compromises to end the war in the eastern European country. The statement emerges as Kyiv and Moscow prepare for their maiden face-to-face dialogue in more than two weeks, amounting to the sixth round of talks, slated to be held in Turkey. The Pentagon's predicament comes to the fore as US President Joe Biden, in his speech in Warsaw at the weekend, said, "For God's sake, this (Putin) cannot remain in power."  

"Putin is not interested in ending the war and will not compromise," the US official told reporters as per NEXTA.

On the other hand, the Kremlin off-handedly deems the ongoing war as its 'special military operation' in Kyiv to disarm and 'denazify' its war-ravaged neighbour, Ukraine. Understandably so, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and other countries, quintessentially the West, perceive Kremlin-led incessant missile strikes for unprovoked war and the invasion as an attempt to mow down Kyiv's elected government. 

Will Vladimir Putin stop the war on Ukraine anytime soon?

Though there is no agenda for face-to-face dialogue between Putin and Zelenskyy in Istanbul, the next round of Russia-Ukraine negotiations will begin Tuesday at 10:00 am in Istanbul, said a Kyiv delegate, as per Russian state-funded media house RT. This comes after Putin is said to have held a telephonic conversation with Turkish counterpart Tayyip Erdogan on Sunday, wherein, the two had agreed for Istanbul to host the mediation.

Turkey's presidential spokesman said that Kyiv needed more support to defend itself while countries cannot 'burn bridges' with Russia. 

Reports suggest that Ankara hopes that the bilateral dialogue will lead to a ceasefire in Ukraine, however, the West does not foresee Putin calling off the war or indicating a ceasefire soon as the invasion of Kyiv is far from how the Kremlin estimated the war. Meanwhile, veterans and analysts have said that fierce resistance put forth by Zelenskyy's forces might compel Russians to withdraw and diminish the chances of impending losses.

Russia-Ukraine war: day 34

Amidst the prolonged war, the capital city of Kyiv and the second-largest city Mariupol are reportedly the worst hit and civilians have taken refuge in establishments to either flee the country or save their lives. Last week in an adresss to the nation, Mariupol Mayor Vadym Boichenko said, "People are beyond the line of humanitarian catastrophe. We need to completely evacuate Mariupol."

He further mentioned that nearly 1,60,000 Ukrainian civilians have been denied safe passage owing to Russian intrusion, the Mayor's spokesperson later stated that nearly 5,000 people had been killed and 90% of buildings damaged, of which 40% were destroyed.

United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres, on Monday, launched an initiative for a humanitarian ceasefire in Ukraine. As the war continued for the fifth week, he said that he had instructed the UN under Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs and Emergency to explore arrangements for a humanitarian ceasefire in the war-hit Ukraine.

As per reports, the Ukrainian delegation has arrived in Turkey for talks with Russia as the Moscow-Kyiv war entered the 34th day.