MAD Vlad will only call off the war in Ukraine if the NATO-loving West vows to keep its hands off Russia’s prized former Soviet states - as a furious Trump warns he's "playing with fire".
The Russian president wants a "written" pledge from Western leaders to stop NATO's expansion to countries east of the map, top Russian officials revealed to Reuters.
The eastward expansion here refers to Ukraine, Georgia, Moldova and other former Soviet republics.
The three senior Russian officials told Reuters that a second condition for a peace deal is the lifting of most sanctions on Russia.
Another condition cited is that Ukraine be neutral.
The fourth condition involves settling the status of Russia’s frozen sovereign assets in Western countries.
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The Kremlin lastly demands protection for Russian speakers in Ukraine, the sources added.
One said: "Putin is ready to make peace but not at any price."
The officials echoed Putin’s own stance: any peace deal must tackle the conflict’s "root causes" - in Russia's view, NATO’s expansion and Western support for Ukraine.
Kyiv has repeatedly said that Moscow should have no say in its sovereign right to pursue NATO membership.
The Kremlin did not respond to Reuters' request for comment on these claims.
Vladimir Putin's bold pledge coincides with Donald Trump's furious warning on Tuesday that the Russian leader is "playing with fire" by refusing to engage in ceasefire talks.
In recent days, the US president has ramped up efforts to end the war, growing more frustrated with Putin.
In a Truth Social post on Tuesday, Trump said: "What Vladimir Putin doesn’t realize is that if it weren’t for me, lots of really bad things would have already happened to Russia, and I mean REALLY BAD.
"He’s playing with fire!"
Kremlin mouthpiece Dmitry Medvedev responded by saying the only truly bad thing to worry about was World War Three.
He said: "Regarding Trump's words about Putin 'playing with fire' and 'really bad things' happening to Russia, I only know of one REALLY BAD thing: WWIII.
Trump and Putin had a two-hour call last week, in which Putin said that he had agreed to work with Ukraine on a memorandum.
The Kremlin says it's currently drafting its version of the memorandum and that there cannot be a fixed deadline for ceasefire details to be agreed.
It comes as Ukraine attacked Moscow overnight in a brutal revenge strike following Russia's three-day aerial blitz.
Ukrainian strikes targeted a key microchip facility in Moscow’s Zelenograd district, with explosions also reported at a drone manufacturing plant and another defence facility in Dubna.
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Both strikes are believed to have caused significant damage to the Kremlin’s war machine.
Moscow's defence ministry claims Ukraine launched nearly 300 drones overnight.
What is NATO?
By Eliana Nunes
NATO, or the North Atlantic Treaty Organisation, is an intergovernmental military alliance established in 1949.
It was created after World War II, primarily in response to growing concerns about Soviet expansion during the early stages of the Cold War.
NATO was officially formed with the signing of the North Atlantic Treaty (also known as the Washington Treaty) in 1949 by 12 founding member states.
Since then, it has expanded to include 32 member countries.
The most recent country to join NATO is Sweden, which became a full member on March 7, 2024.
At its core, NATO operates on the principle of collective defence - an attack against one member is considered an attack against all.