People who are disappointed with the lack of quick progress toward peace in Ukraine have “inflated expectations,” President Vladimir V. Putin of Russia said on Friday, in his first public comments since President Trump called on him to end the war by late next week.
Mr. Putin didn’t directly respond to Mr. Trump’s ultimatum, made on Monday. The U.S. president threatened to apply financial penalties on Russia and buyers of its oil, which include China, India and Turkey, if Moscow failed to end the war within about 12 days.
As Mr. Trump has dialed up his rhetoric, Moscow has intensified attacks on civilian infrastructure in Ukraine — strikes that, according to Mr. Trump, demonstrate that the Russian leader isn’t interested in peace.
On Thursday, at least 31 people were killed and 150 more were injured when Russian missiles and drones rammed into several buildings in the capital Kyiv, turning the side of one apartment building into rubble.
Speaking to reporters during a visit Friday to a remote monastery in northwest Russia, Mr. Putin suggested people expressing frustration with the slow nature of peace talks had underestimated the task.
“All disappointments come from inflated expectations,” Mr. Putin said. “In order to solve the issue in a peaceful way, we need deep conversations, not in public, but in the silence of a negotiating process.”
For weeks, top Russian officials have suggested that Mr. Trump does not appreciate the complex details that must be worked out to make a peace deal that will satisfy both Moscow and Kyiv.
But critics, including Mr. Trump and other Western leaders, have countered that Mr. Putin appears to be running out the clock during negotiations to avoid committing to a cease-fire. Russia is in the middle of a summer offensive and has been gaining territory on the battlefield, giving Mr. Putin confidence as Ukraine struggles to amass sufficient armaments and personnel.
Despite multiple conversations with Mr. Trump, the Russian leader has given no indication that he is willing to budge on his sweeping demands of Ukraine.
In his comments Friday, Mr. Putin said “the conditions certainly remain the same” for ending the war. In the past, the Kremlin has demanded that Ukraine be prevented from joining military alliances such as NATO and subjected to limits on its military. It also wants Kyiv to hand over vast swaths of territory, including some areas that Moscow has been unable to capture or hold on to since its 2022 invasion.
Kyiv has denounced those demands as unacceptable and a violation of Ukraine’s sovereignty.
President Volodymyr Zelensky of Ukraine, in a statement issued shortly after Mr. Putin’s remarks, urged Russia to “move beyond the exchange of statements and technical-level meetings to talks between leaders.”
Russia and Ukraine held three rounds of talks in Turkey earlier this year at Mr. Trump’s urging. Kyiv has insisted on a one-to-one meeting between the two presidents as the only way to reach a deal, while Moscow has balked at the suggestion.
Until recently, the Russian leader was decrying Mr. Zelensky as illegitimate and suggesting he could only negotiate with someone else.
Mr. Putin said Friday he hoped the lower-level talks would continue.
Even as Mr. Trump issues threats, his administration is still engaging with Moscow.
Mr. Trump said Thursday that his special envoy, Steve Witkoff, would be traveling to Moscow after wrapping up his current travels in the Middle East.
But the Russian leader historically hasn’t responded positively to threats.
Asked on Thursday about the attack on Kyiv, Mr. Trump called Russia’s actions “disgusting,” a marked change in tone for the U.S. leader, who spent the first months of his second term deliberately avoiding any criticism of Russia.
Maria Varenikova contributed reporting from Kyiv.
Paul Sonne is an international correspondent, focusing on Russia and the varied impacts of President Vladimir V. Putin’s domestic and foreign policies, with a focus on the war against Ukraine.
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