Photo: EPA-EFE/EVGENIA NOVOZHENINA / POOL

Vladimir Putin believes that Russia has achieved its main goals in the war in Ukraine, Reuters reported on Thursday, citing multiple sources close to the Kremlin.

Last year saw Russia make its most significant territorial gains since the first days of the invasion in 2022, and it now controls almost a fifth of Ukrainian territory. One source stressed the importance of the land bridge that has been created between mainland Russia and annexed Crimea by occupied regions of Ukraine, as well as Russia having successfully weakened the Armed Forces of Ukraine as a whole.

The same source said that Putin also recognised “the strain the war is putting on the economy”, citing problems including the impact of high interest rates on both industry and the civilian economy.

Two other sources said the high interest rates imposed to keep inflation in check combined with labour force shortages have led some in Russia’s ruling elite to support a negotiated end to the war.

Reuters cited Putin’s visible concern about the state of the economy at a meeting he held with Russian business leaders on 16 January, though noted that he continued to have faith in the head of Russia’s Central Bank, Elvira Nabiullina.

Earlier this week, US President Donald Trump threatened Russia with sanctions twice in the space of 24 hours unless Putin agreed to begin talks over ending the war in Ukraine, saying he was doing Putin a “very big favour” by attempting to end the conflict and that it was better to go about things “the easy way”.

Putin’s spokesperson Dmitry Peskov said on Thursday that while the Kremlin was keeping a close eye on Trump’s statements, there had been no direct contact with Washington to date.

“We don’t really see anything new here. Trump often resorted to sanctions when he was president before,” Peskov said, adding that Russia remained open to the type of “equal and respectful dialogue” with Washington that it had enjoyed during Trump’s first term in office.