Putin names new condition for Russia's peace talks with Ukraine

The Russian Kommersant agency reported the information.

According to the report, Putin made these comments during an open lesson titled "Talking about Important Things" at a school in Tuva during his visit.

An eleventh-grader asked Putin about the situation at the front, mentioning the contradictory information circulating online regarding negotiations with Ukraine.

In response, Putin stated that Russia was ready to negotiate if Ukraine demonstrated "a genuine desire, not just in words but in actions, to pursue peaceful negotiations and resolve these issues by peaceful means."

"But we must, of course, deal with these bandits who have entered the territory of the Russian Federation, namely the Kursk region, and with their attempts to destabilize the situation in the border area in general," the Russian leader said.

• On August 25, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy explained that Putin cannot hold the Kursk region because Russian air defense systems mainly cover his residence, Moscow and St. Petersburg, not the regions bordering Ukraine.