Russia’s Putin rules out ceasefire with Ukraine during speech in Moscow

Putin warned the West he would deploy Nuclear weapons if necessary to defend the Russian Baltic exclave of Kaliningrad.Russian President Vladimir Putin has ruled out a ceasefire on long-range strikes with Ukraine as Moscow steps up its campaign of aerial attacks on Kyiv.“We are told: ‘Let them stop striking your refineries, and you will stop striking their ships.’ It is simply ridiculous,” Putin said on Thursday at the Valdai political forum in Moscow.Recommended Stories list of 3 itemslist 1 of 3‘I wanted to live’: A Ukrainian orphan’s journey through Russian occupationlist 2 of 3Russian attacks on Kyiv region kill four people, target power gridlist 3 of 3Russia warns NATO of possible nuclear response if Kaliningrad is cut offend of listThe remarks followed a meeting between United States President Donald Trump and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy in New York on September 22, when Zelenskyy said Kyiv was ready to cease strikes on Russian oil refineries and other energy facilities if Moscow also stopped its attacks on Ukrainian energy infrastructure.Speaking at the forum of the Moscow-based think tank, Putin said Ukraine had “partially achieved its objectives” with ⁠these strikes, with attacks on Russian ⁠oil refineries having cost the country 1 percent of its gross domestic product (GDP), but added that Russia ⁠was now responding in kind.Russia has ramped up long-range strikes, targeting Ukraine’s steel companies as well as supply chains, notably in the rail sector. Ukraine accuses Moscow of deliberately hitting civilian targets and keeping Kyiv on a near-constant state of alert as it braces for another tough winter.A Russian drone struck a school in Kyiv on Thursday, according to city officials, as the Ukrainian capital endured relentless aerial attacks. No casualties were reported as children and staff at the school were in shelters when the drone hit.Putin added that Russia would prefer to end the Ukraine" class="entity-link entity-event" data-entity-id="184571" data-entity-type="event">Conflict in Ukraine through talks and wanted it to ⁠be a neutral ⁠country after the end ⁠of hostilities.