Kremlin says Putin remains open to Ukraine talks but is carving out a bigger buffer zone

The Kremlin stated that President Putin remains open to diplomacy, but Russia is expanding its buffer zone in Ukraine in response to Kyiv's escalating actions.

The ​Kremlin said ​on Friday ‌that President Vladimir ​Putin remained open to achieving Russia's objectives ‌through diplomacy, but that Moscow was carving out a wider buffer zone in ‌Ukraine in response to Kyiv's escalatory actions.

Kremlin ‌spokesman Dmitry Peskov was responding to a question about a Reuters article a day ⁠earlier ​in ⁠which three sources close to the Kremlin told ⁠Reuters that Ukraine's recent drone strikes on ​Russia's oil refineries and ports were ⁠strengthening Putin's resolve to keep fighting for ⁠now.

Peskov ​said Russia believed that Kyiv had no desire for talks at ⁠the moments and that Moscow was ⁠therefore ⁠continuing its military campaign in Ukraine.