Jens Asbjørn Bøgen
The remarks come as the Russian forces continue to struggle on the ground.
Several diplomatic efforts to reach a peace agreement in Ukraine have failed during the war, which is now in its fifth year.
The two sides blame each other for the lack of a deal, and now the Kremlin is going as far as saying that the war could be over by the end of the day.
That is, if Ukraine meets Russia’s demands.
A swift ultimatum
Speaking on Tuesday, Kremlin press secretary Dmitry Peskov claimed the conflict could be over within hours.
“As for Zelenskyy and ending the war by the end of the year, the war could be over by the end of the day. We’ve spoken about this repeatedly, and the president spoke about it when he addressed senior officials at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. To achieve this, Zelenskyy needs to order his armed forces to leave the territory of Russian regions,” Peskov stated, according to the Russian state-run media outlet RIA Novosti and the Russian news agency Interfax.
By “Russian regions,” the Kremlin means Ukrainian territories, including parts of the Donbas, that Moscow claims as its own.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has reportedly told Ukrainian officials to try to end the war as soon as possible, preferably before the end of the year.
Demands and deadlock
The statement followed a major development on the battlefield. Media outlet Ukrainska Pravda reported that Russia launched a large-scale bombardment using 729 drones and missiles overnight.
Ukrainian air defenses shot down 642 of those threats. Despite the heavy attacks, Peskov insisted that Moscow prefers a diplomatic route to resolve the conflict.
He warned that the military operation would continue if Kyiv delays genuine peace talks. The spokesman added that Russian President Vladimir Putin had previously laid out these terms.
Those conditions require Ukraine to give up four of its regions. Kyiv must also abandon its plans to join NATO and accept a permanently neutral status.
Russian forces struggling on the ground
The Institute for the Study of War (ISW) has updated its analysis of territorial gains in the war.
According to the think tank, Russian forces managed to gain roughly 40 km² from December through May 2026, but during the same time, the Russian’s lost control of 281 km2.
ISW notes that the massive Russian territorial loss can be attributed, at least in part, to changes in the methodology used by the think tank when making its calculations. However, the analysts make it clear that, when comparing the current progress of the Russian campaign with the same period in 2025, Putin’s war machine has slowed significantly.
The think tank also reports that other sources using different methodologies recorded a slowdown in the Russian advance during May 2026. Therefore, even if the exact territorial changes may not be perfectly accurate, the overall picture of a Russian army struggling to achieve meaningful advances is clear.
Behind the scenes
While the rhetoric remains fierce, some diplomatic channels remain active. Peskov admitted that the formal peace process is frozen, but he noted that communication has not completely stopped.
Specifically, regular contact with the United States continues.
“We, I repeat, remain open to peace negotiations,” the press secretary concluded.
The comments come just a day after Ukrainian officials expressed their own urgency to end the violence. Kyrylo Budanov, a senior Ukrainian official, noted that Zelenskyy wants every effort made to stop the war quickly.
Sources: RIA Novosti, Interfax, Ukrainska Pravda, Institute for the Study of War
