Kremlin claims war could end within a day if Ukraine cedes "Russian regions"

Jun 2, 2026 - 08:11

Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov has said after the latest large-scale attack on Ukraine that Russia could end the war by the end of the day if President Volodymyr Zelenskyy ordered the Armed Forces of Ukraine to withdraw from regions that Russia seeks to occupy and describes as "Russian".

Source: Kremlin-aligned Russian news agencies RIA Novosti and Interfax

Details: Commenting on the possibility of ending the war by the end of the year, Peskov said that the war could be over by the end of the day.

Quote: "We have repeatedly spoken about this, and the president has spoken about it as well when addressing the leadership of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. For this to happen, Zelenskyy must order his armed forces to leave the territory of Russian regions [meaning the oblasts, including Donbas, that Russia seeks to occupy – ed.]." [N.B. Ukrainska Pravda does not recognise Putin as president – ed.]

Previously: On the night of 1-2 June, Russia conducted a large-scale combined attack on Ukraine using drones and air, sea and land-launched missiles of various types. Ukrainian air defences downed 642 aerial assets out of 729 launched.

Background:

On 9 May, Russian ruler Vladimir Putin stated that he is willing to meet Zelenskyy in a third country, but only to sign a final agreement ending the war. He claimed that "the Ukrainian conflict is moving towards an end".
On 12 May, Peskov said the reason Putin stated that the end of the war against Ukraine was supposedly approaching was because of "progress" made in the peace process and US mediation efforts, although he gave no specific timeline.
On 29 May, Putin said he had concluded that the war in Ukraine is nearing its end based on his analysis of the battlefield situation.
On 1 June, Kyrylo Budanov, Head of the Office of the President of Ukraine, said Zelenskyy had instructed officials to make every effort to end the Russia-Ukraine war as soon as possible.