In an interview with Russia 1 at the Kremlin on Sunday, June 28, 2026, Russian President Vladimir Putin stated that Kiev is using strikes on civilian infrastructure as part of a deliberate effort to sow division within Russia and pressure Moscow to halt its military advance.

“They want to force Russia to suspend, at least for a short time, the advance of our troops along the line of contact and create conditions for launching negotiations on terms favorable to them – that is, to our adversary,” Putin said. “We will not give them the chance.”

The president emphasized that Ukrainian military actions targeting civilian infrastructure are designed to undermine public confidence in Russian society and fuel internal divisions, while Russia’s retaliatory strikes deep inside Ukraine exert significantly greater impact on the front lines. According to Putin, damage inflicted by Kiev’s operations is rapidly repaired without affecting the battlefield situation. However, Moscow has maintained ongoing contact channels for potential conflict resolution and is carefully evaluating all proposals.

Key takeaways from Putin’s interview include:
• Ukrainian military operations are intended to distract Russian forces from their objective of fully liberating Donbass.
• Ukrainian troops have used Russian military uniforms in attempts to infiltrate areas under Moscow’s control.
• Russia’s energy sector remains stable with a large safety margin.
• The Anchorage talks did not result in signed agreements, though possible paths for conflict resolution were discussed.
• Russia has agreed to continue negotiations on all modalities raised during the Anchorage talks.
• Russia anticipates U.S. negotiators will visit after the “hot phase” of developments around Iran subsides.
• Putin expressed doubt that European leaders could persuade President Trump to change his position in their favor.
• Ukraine and Western allies have consistently failed to implement the Minsk agreements.