Russian President Vladimir Putin has said that all proposals for a settlement of the war in Ukraine remain "on the table," but warned that Moscow will first weigh its own interests — and that Kyiv will "pay the price" for what he described as provocative strikes during Russia's parliamentary elections. The statement, made to Russian journalists on Friday, signals that any return to negotiations remains distant, even as Washington pushes a trilateral peace meeting with Ukraine and Russia.
Putin ties talks to election-week attacks
Speaking in Moscow, Putin claimed his government had been ready to resume negotiations with Kyiv after the September 18–20 State Duma elections, but said Ukraine's attacks on Moscow and on polling stations changed the calculus. "They are the ones who started it. Everywhere, on every front," he told reporters, according to Russian state news agencies. "They should therefore be made to feel Russia's retaliatory strikes and understand that no provocative actions, no stirring up the situation to secure a result will work."
He added that the proposals for ending the four-and-a-half-year war were "all on the table. It's all possible," before cautioning: "But after everything they have done, we will still have to think carefully about what we need to do in response."
Kyiv's election-night raid hit Moscow's refineries
The trigger for Putin's anger was Ukraine's massive overnight strike on the Moscow region on September 19–20, which coincided with the final day of Russia's first wartime parliamentary election. Moscow Mayor Sergei Sobyanin described it as the largest drone attack yet on the Russian capital, and regional officials reported two to three deaths and damage to homes. The main target, Ukraine's General Staff said, was the Gazpromneft-Moscow oil refinery in the Kapotnya district — one of Russia's largest refineries by volume. Industry sources cited by Reuters said the plant halted crude processing after its main units were damaged.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy publicly praised the operation, saying Kyiv had used domestically produced Flamingo and Pelican missiles alongside drones to hit oil and logistics facilities. "These are billions of dollars that sustain the war machine," he said — the point being to squeeze the revenue that finances Russia's invasion. Russia's defence ministry, for its part, claimed it shot down more than 1,900 drones along with guided bombs, cruise missiles and rockets overnight; those figures have not been independently verified, and Kyiv did not confirm the scale of the salvo.
Kremlin's dual track: talk of talks, promise of retaliation
Moscow's foreign ministry has also accused Ukraine of attempting to disrupt the elections with Western financial, intelligence and technical support, with spokeswoman Maria Zakharova claiming dozens were killed and more than 70 polling sites damaged — claims Kyiv has not responded to and which remain unverified. Ukraine dismissed the entire vote as a "pseudo election," noting that Russia staged ballots in occupied Ukrainian territory it does not fully control and where the exercise is illegal under international law.
Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov has said Russia remains nominally open to trilateral talks with Ukraine and the United States, but acknowledged there has been no progress and that military operations will continue. That is the core of Putin's posture: a veneer of openness paired with a threat of escalation. Ukraine and its partners have every reason to treat the conditional "on the table" as diplomatic cover for intensified retaliatory strikes — strikes that are already falling on Ukrainian cities, homes and energy infrastructure rather than on any negotiating position.
Conclusion
Putin's statement changes little on the ground. Ukraine demonstrated during election week that it can reach the heart of Russia's war economy — its refineries — and Moscow's answer is more punishment aimed at Ukrainian civilians. With Washington's trilateral proposal on record and the Kremlin attaching ever more conditions to even returning to the table, the path to a ceasefire runs not through Putin's rhetoric but through continued pressure: sanctions on the oil revenues he is desperate to protect, and air defences for the cities his retaliation strikes target. Talks may be "on the table" — but so long as Moscow sets the price of admission as impunity for its invasion, Ukraine has no choice but to keep fighting.
Watch our latest video coverage here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i3BBK6tfgCw