JAKARTA - President Vladimir Putin said on Thursday that Russia would strengthen its air defenses to counter recent Ukrainian drone attacks, which have reached deep into his country.
Speaking in response to a question from The Associated Press during a meeting with the heads of international news agencies, President Putin acknowledged the damage caused by Ukrainian drone attacks, and promised to strengthen his air defenses in response.
Furthermore, President Putin said that Russia was open to compromise on Ukraine in accordance with the understanding reached during his summit meeting with US President Donald Trump in Anchorage, Alaska, adding that Ukraine needed to accept it to reach an agreement.
On the other hand, President Putin rejected the idea that EU countries could act as mediators in the Russian-Ukrainian peace talks, arguing that they were not neutral parties.
"Mediation assumes neutrality. Where is the neutrality here?" he asked, launching Al Arabiya from The Associated Press (5/6).
He also emphasized that a potential third-party mediator needs to be trusted by both parties.
"How can Russia trust people who for years and years have constantly trumpeted the need to deliver a strategic defeat to Russia?" he said.
President Putin stressed his efforts to control the entire Donetsk region in eastern Ukraine, noting that Ukraine controls about 15 percent of its territory.
He stated that "patriotism and the will of the Russian people" would ensure the achievement of Moscow's goals in Ukraine.
"Russian forces are advancing along the contact line," he said.
The media session took place on the sidelines of the St. Petersburg International Economic Forum, its annual investment exhibition.
Hours before the forum opened on Wednesday, a Ukrainian drone attack hit the Kronstadt naval base and a nearby oil terminal, sending a huge plume of black smoke over Russia's second-largest city.
It was another humiliating blow for his efforts to minimize the impact of the four-year conflict and portray it as a distant event that does not affect the daily life of Russians.
It also underlines Ukraine's growing ability to strike deep into Russian territory and shows the vulnerability of its cities.
Dozens of flights were delayed or diverted at St. Petersburg airport and authorities cut mobile phone internet services to try to prevent drone attacks.
President Putin reduced the scale of Russia's "Victory Day" parade, which is celebrated every May 9, for fear of a Ukrainian drone attack.
Days later, a massive drone attack on the outskirts of Moscow killed three people and showed the vulnerability of the capital.
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