Putin has 'lost interest' in talks to end war, wants biggest slice possible from Ukraine

All three sources said Putin was seriously considering a peace deal with Ukraine last month, but he can no longer see any resolution through diplomatic talks and believes they are at a "dead end".

Putin said in mid-April that Ukraine had deviated from the agreements made at a peace conference in Istanbul, and that talks were in a “dead end”. He also claimed Russia's 'military operation' was going as planned, and vowed to continue it "until its full completion".

One person briefed on the talks said:

Putin sincerely believes in the nonsense he hears on [Russian] television and he wants to win big.

His approach hardened after the sinking of Russian warship Moskva, which Ukraine has claimed responsibility for.

Putin was against signing anything... after the Moskva he doesn't look like a winner, because it was humiliating,

a source said.

High-level talks between the two countries have not been held since Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky claimed Russia had committed war crimes in Bucha.

Ukrainian and Western officials have always doubted Putin's commitment to the ceasefire talks, and considered it a tactic to buy time.

Sources say Putin has a distorted view of the war, relying on information from his generals and what he sees on Russian television. He insisted, for example, that despite all evidence to the contrary, his soldiers did not attack civilians in the offensive against the Azovstal steelworks in the southern port city of Mariupol .

Sky News reported Russia saying earlier it will halt hostilities to allow for civilians to flee the Azovstal steelworks. According to reports, the ceasefire was to be held from 11am GMT, allowing civilians at the plant to leave in any direction. 

However, Ukraine says no agreement has been reached for a humanitarian corridor from Mariupol on Monday.

Deputy Prime Minister Iryna Vereshchuk added Ukraine has asked UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres to act as "an initiator and guarantor" of any evacuation route from the Azovstal plant.

Guterres will travel to Moscow on Tuesday for face-to-face talks with Vladimir Putin, before visiting Volodymyr Zelensky in Ukraine.

Hundreds of civilians are understood to be sheltering in underground bunkers in Azovstal, which has been blockaded by Russian troops.

Lord Richard Dannatt, former chief of the general staff told Sky News Russia is likely to launch a new attack on the Azovstal steelworks, where the remainder of Mariupol's defence forces are sheltering.

After all, Vladimir Putin has to get that aspect of his campaign complete by armed forces Victory Day on 9 May. Otherwise, the efforts to achieve a major breakthrough, a major success in the Donbas, appears to be eluding them.

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, European Council President Charles Michel and Russian oligarch Roman Abramovich have also tried to persuade Putin to meet with Zelensky. But in a conversation on Friday, Putin told Michel that talks had stalled because Ukraine had "put up a wall".

Putin is avoiding a meeting with the Ukrainian president with all his might, wanting everything to be decided before any meeting.

Kyiv officials fear that Putin could go further than the Russian goal of seizing Donbass and instead try to take over all of southeast Ukraine, cutting the country off from the sea.

OFFICIALS ARE INCREASINGLY CONCERNED THAT MOSCOW COULD RESORT TO TACTICAL NUCLEAR WEAPONS IF IT SUFFERS FURTHER SETBACKS.

Zelensky said over the weekend that a world leader would only use nuclear weapons if they have "lost touch with reality, with common sense".

If the leader of the Russian Federation doesn't lose touch with common sense he will not use nuclear weapons.

At a meeting with Michel in Kiev on Wednesday, Zelensky said Ukrainian public opinion was not in favour of peace talks, adding that he was aware that fighting Putin was more popular than making concessions, according to a person familiar with the conversation.

Cover photo: Russian President Vladimir Putin attends the Orthodox Easter liturgy at the Cathedral of Christ the Saviour in Moscow on the night of 24 April 2022. MTI/EPA/Pool/AP/Alexander Zemlianichenko