Putin’s camp issues cynical new demand for ceasefire: Moscow sets "conditions" for Zelenskyy

Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov shocked with a statement regarding readiness for negotiations only after the fulfillment of Moscow's ultimatum. Russia is demanding that Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy order the Armed Forces of Ukraine to retreat.

The dictator’s spokesman’s remarks were carried by Russian state-run propaganda outlets.

Peskov brazenly declared that for Russia and Ukraine to transition to full-scale peace talks, Zelenskyy must order the Armed Forces of Ukraine to cease fire and withdraw from what he called “Russian regions” apparently referring to temporarily occupied Ukrainian territories that the Kremlin routinely labels as its own.

The Kremlin’s statement implies that the aggressor now demands the withdrawal of the Defense Forces not only from the Donbas, but also from Ukraine’s Kherson and Zaporizhzhia regions — territories that President Vladimir Putin has "added" to the Russian constitution.

Peskov added that negotiations regarding the settlement of the war in Ukraine would be "extremely difficult" and involve a vast number of critical details.

Notably, the defiant statements from Putin’s mouthpiece coincided with a massive Russian strike on Ukraine, launched in broad daylight on May 13.