Putin Wants ‘Transitional’ Govt In Ukraine To Oust Zelenskyy, Vows To ‘Finish Off’ Troops Amid US Ceasefire Push

<p class=”p1″>Russian President Vladimir Putin on Friday called for the establishment of a &ldquo;transitional administration&rdquo; in Ukraine, stating that it would pave the way for a &ldquo;democratic presidential election&rdquo; and the formation of a government with &ldquo;the confidence of the people.&rdquo; His remarks come as US President Donald Trump pushes for a ceasefire, amid signs of rapprochement between Washington and Moscow.</p>
<p class=”p1″>Speaking on the sidelines of an Arctic forum, Putin suggested that discussions on the administration could be held &ldquo;under the auspices of the UN&rdquo; with the involvement of the United States, Europe, and Russia&rsquo;s allies. &ldquo;Then we can begin negotiations with these authorities on a peace agreement and sign legitimate documents,&rdquo; Putin said, as quoted by news agency AFP.</p>
<p class=”p1″>The Russian President also reiterated his call for Ukraine&rsquo;s military leaders to overthrow President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, whom he has frequently accused&mdash;without evidence&mdash;of being a &ldquo;neo-Nazi and drug addict.&rdquo; The Kremlin has repeatedly questioned Zelenskyy&rsquo;s legitimacy since his initial five-year mandate ended in May 2024. However, under Ukrainian law, elections are suspended during major military conflicts, a stance also upheld by Zelenskyy&rsquo;s domestic political opponents.</p>
<h3><strong>&lsquo;We Will Finish Them Off&rsquo;: Putin On Russia-Ukraine War</strong></h3>
<p class=”p1″>Putin also reinforced Russia&rsquo;s military strategy, stating, &ldquo;I was saying not so long ago: &lsquo;We will finish them off.&rsquo; There are reasons to believe that we will finish them off.&rdquo; He further asserted, &ldquo;We are gradually, not as fast as some would like, but nevertheless persistently and confidently moving toward achieving all the goals stated at the beginning of the special operation.&rdquo;</p>
<p class=”p1″>The Russian Defence Ministry claimed fresh territorial gains, announcing that its troops had seized a village in Ukraine&rsquo;s northeastern Kharkiv region and retaken a border settlement in Russia&rsquo;s Kursk region, AFP reported.</p>
<p class=”p1″>Meanwhile, Ukraine&rsquo;s air force reported that Russia had launched 163 drones in an overnight aerial assault, sparking fires at infrastructure and agricultural sites in southern Ukraine. Kyiv has accused Moscow of repeatedly violating its self-imposed moratorium on attacking Ukrainian energy facilities.</p>
<p class=”p1″>Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov defended Putin&rsquo;s position, alleging that Ukraine&rsquo;s leadership had a &ldquo;total lack of control&rdquo; over its military, which he accused of daily attacks on Russian energy sites. He reiterated Moscow&rsquo;s stance that it was not currently targeting Ukrainian energy facilities but warned that if Kyiv failed to respect the moratorium, &ldquo;The Russian side reserves the right, if the Kyiv regime does not observe the moratorium, also not to follow it.&rdquo;</p>
<p class=”p1″>The latest developments unfold as Russia continues to reject calls for a full ceasefire. Andriy Yermak, the head of Ukraine&rsquo;s Presidential Office, accused Moscow of stalling peace talks. &ldquo;Russia is trying to derail the path to peace by choosing to continue the war,&rdquo; Yermak said, as quoted by AFP.</p>
<p class=”p1″>The Kremlin has also directed criticism at Europe, blaming it for blocking progress in peace efforts between Russia and the United States. Peskov took issue with the European Union&rsquo;s refusal to consider lifting sanctions on a Russian agricultural bank as a condition for restoring a deal on safe passage in the Black Sea. &ldquo;If European countries don&rsquo;t want to go down this path, it means they don&rsquo;t want to go down the path of peace in unison with the efforts shown in Moscow and Washington,&rdquo; Peskov remarked.</p>
<p class=”p1″>The ongoing conflict, now in its third year, has resulted in tens of thousands of casualties on both sides, with no clear resolution in sight.</p>