MURDEROUS Vladimir Putin is buying time to take Ukraine’s bargaining chips off the table before he’ll even consider peace, experts believe.
Geopolitical analysts have told The Sun that the Russian tyrant is still plotting towards his ultimate goal of conquest despite saying he wanted an end to fighting.
Putin on Thursday said he had “serious questions” about Washington’s plan for a 30-day ceasefire in Ukraine but added that Moscow was ready to discuss it with US President Donald Trump.
The Russian leader said “the idea itself is correct, and we certainly support it”, but he added that “there are issues that we need to discuss, and I think that we need to discuss it with our American colleagues and partners”.
Putin wants to “remove the root causes of the crisis” before any fighting stops – a hint that he wanted long-desired concessions from the talks.
But experts believe Vlad may just be stalling for time and using the talks in Jeddah, and any potential discussions between the White House and Kremlin directly, for different purposes.
Ex-military intelligence officer Philip Ingram said Putin was partly delaying because he wanted to expel Ukraine from Kursk and remove one of Kyiv’s bargaining chips.
Ingram said: “He doesn’t want a ceasefire which freezes front lines where Ukraine still occupies part of Russia.”
Ingram also claimed Putin was diplomatically caught “where he can’t really manoeuvre” as his objectives haven’t changed.
Vlad also doesn’t really want peace while he can continue fighting – but he needs to look like it.
Ultimately, Putin wants to achieve his objectives outright, or be able to “salami slice further parts of Ukraine at some stage in the future”.
“He’s done that by saying, yes, I accept a ceasefire. However, these are my conditions. That’s typical Vladimir Putin,” Ingram said.
Mykola Bielieskov, research fellow at the National Institute for Strategic Studies in Kyiv, said Moscow’s primary goal with ceasefire talks was to sow more distrust between the US and Ukraine.
He said Putin was following classic Russian tactics that sow confusion and create openings to split Ukraine and its allies.
Putin’s conditions for a ceasefire have presented unrealistic demands for Ukraine.
But Trump may try and force Zelensky to accept some of these unacceptable concessions on security and sovereignty to end the war.
But that would present Zelensky as a “spoiler” for peace in American eyes and sow discord in Ukraine against the US.
“So it’s not only about dragging feet, it’s about shouldering the responsibility on others, blaming others and putting them and other players against each other, and basically presenting them as the spoilers of peace.”
If Washington were to become fed up with Kyiv it may then pause further weapons shipments and intelligence support as Trump did following the Oval Office row.
Eventually, Putin’s meatgrinder would grind Ukraine down as it runs out of weapons and manpower.
Bielieskov said: “The Russian response, it was a kind of vintage in terms of creating confusion and trying to create an opening for the discord between us and and Ukraine.”
He said if Putin believes Trump is willing to walk away from Ukraine, he won’t compromise on his most ambitious goals.
Bielieskov said: “Even a weakened Ukraine, even a blooded Ukraine, which is still soaring, which is still independent, it’s a major humiliation for him.
“He’s a strong man, he’s an autocrat… [an independent Ukraine] it’s his biggest failure, his biggest trauma.”
Bielieskov also said that it was important for Russia to participate in talks as a way of balancing against China.
He said that as Moscow wanted some relationship with Washington so that it had room to manoeuvre with against Beijing when it needed to.
John Kennedy, a Research Leader for RAND, said Putin will be participating in talks “looking for opportunities that work in his favour”.
In particular, the ceasefire talks give the Kremlin an opportunity to talk directly with the White House.
After three years of being an outcast in the international system, Putin could soon be talking directly with its most powerful actor.
Kennedy said: “Putin will be patient and wait for opportunities, but he’s not going to jump at the first set of proposals.
By Georgie English, Foreign News Reporter
VLADIMIR Putin’s secret plans for the fate of Ukraine have been uncovered – with the tyrant hoping to decimate Ukraine until 2026, reports say.
The Russian despot has a maniacal plot to “completely dismantle” Ukraine‘s government while also weakening the US and stopping any “serious Western influence”, classified Kremlin documents suggest.
The world is waiting with bated breath to see how Putin will respond to the US-proposed 30-day ceasefire.
Donald Trump has already praised the plan, which Ukraine has accepted, with US officials now saying “the ball is in Russia‘s court” to agree.
But leaked papers, uncovered by the Washington Post, claim to show that Putin has no intention of saying yes to any peace deal.
The documents, first written up in February by an influential think tank with ties to Russia’s Federal Security Service (FSB), shows how Moscow has a list of brutal demands it wants met before ending the war.
What does the Kremlin want?
“In the meantime the war will likely continue, and Putin will be more able to cast himself as a responsible broker waiting for fair terms.”
Kennedy said peace would suit Putin and stop the massive bloodshed his army has faced.
He said: “But there was little commitment to the idea of compromise in his words yesterday.
“In general, history shows that compromise with Putin is really an invitation to him to come back for more later.”
Putin sent Trump a number of secret “signals” after he met with US special envoy Steve Witkoff yesterday.
Vlad sent him back to Washington with a special message, the Kremlin has claimed.
At Thursday afternoon’s press conference, Putin warned Ukrainians still in Kursk “surrender or die”.
On Thursday morning, Moscow claimed it had recaptured the key town of Sudzha off the Ukrainians in the Kursk region.
The Russians have released photos of the war-torn urban wasteland as it now stands.
AN INFLUENCER has tragically died after being swamped with “steaming hot” asphalt in a horror car crash in Mexico.
Travel blogger Elise Caffee, known as “3kidstravel”, suffered severe burns and died in hospital a week after her vehicle flipped and was buried in hot concrete.
Tragedy struck when Elise had travelled to Cancun, with her husband Dan for, a wedding on March 6.
The influencer’s family confirmed the tragic news in a heartbreaking Instagram post.
They wrote: “We are absolutely heartbroken to share the news of Elise’s passing tonight. She held on so long and fought so hard against an impossibly difficult set of circumstances.
“Absolutely everything that could have been done for her was done and we are so grateful she was able to make it back home to say good bye to her family before leaving us.
“We believe in eternal families and know we’ll see our beautiful mom, sister, wife, and daughter again.
“We’re so grateful for all the prayers and love that have buoyed us up in the last few days and that we know will continue to in the days ahead.”
More to follow… For the latest news on this story, keep checking back at The U.S. Sun, your go-to destination for the best celebrity news, sports news, real-life stories, jaw-dropping pictures, and must-see videos.
Like us on Facebook at TheSunUS and follow us on X at @TheUSSun
A NOUGHTIES spin-off to an iconic sitcom will return to screens, 20 years after it first made its debut.
The comedy show Friends, is one of the most iconic TV shows of all time.
It starred the likes of Jennifer Aniston, Courteney Cox, Lisa Kudrow, David Schwimmer and Matthew Perry.
Fans were utterly bereft when the iconic show came to an end in 2004.
The last episode of the popular programme was watched by a whopping 52 million people.
However, their spirits were soon revived when Matt LeBlanc reprised his role as Joey Tribbiani after 10 series of Friends.
NBC gave the green light for the actor to star in his own spin-off for two series until 2006, just months after the original smash hit concluded.
But fans are able to watch the show completely for free now as some of the show has been made available.
On YouTube, the official Friends channel has uploaded the first two episodes of the show.
20 years after its debut in September 2004, fans will be able to stream the hit spin-off for the first time.
It focussed on the fan-favourite character as he moved from New York City to Los Angeles.
Joey wanted to revive his acting career as he reunited with his sister Gina (Drea de Matteo) and his nephew Michael (Paolo Costanzo).
Other stars to feature include Andrea Anders, who played the role of Alex, who was the love interest.
Legally Blonde actress star of The White Lotus Jennifer Coolidge also featured as Joey’s talent agent named Bobby.
18.6 million viewers tuned in for the pilot of the show after it inherited the Thursday night timeslot in the US.
However, the audience figures soon declined as the show progressed as it averaged at just over 10million viewers for the first season.
Dig into the facts behind the iconic 90s sitcom starring Jennifer Aniston, Courteney Cox, Lisa Kudrow, Matt LeBlanc, David Schwimmer and the late Matthew Perry.
BILLI Mucklow has begun removing a tattoo tribute to her ex-husband Any Carroll five months after their split.
The former Towie star, 37, had her footballer ex’s initials on her side in a cursive font.
She visited a studio yesterday to have her first laser removal session and shared a picture of the process on Instagram.
Billi insisted it wasn’t painful and called the clinic “beautiful”.
The mum-of-three, who is also stepmum to Andy’s kids Emilie Rose and Lucas from a previous relationship, has been praised for spending lots of time with her young blended family following the former couple’s split.
We revealed in September how Andy, 35, and Billi had separated after 11 years together and two years of marriage.
He has since gone public with celebrity makeup artist Lou Teasdale.
The striker, who plays for French side FC Girondins de Bordeaux, recently said of his new romance: “I’ve seen a different world since I’ve been with Lou.
“This Christmas, like she does every Christmas, she will go with her daughter to look after the isolated elderly.”
He added to The Times: “She’s a volunteer for Choose Love and a campaigner for LGBTQ+.
“She says to me, ‘Why would you hate anyone?’ That’s someone I need in my life.”
After his and Billi’s split was revealed Andy released a statement that read: “Billi and I have privately separated earlier this year and we are under way with our divorce proceedings.
“It has been a hard few months for our family and we continue to move forward amicably for our children.”
The exes started dating in 2013 and got engaged the following year, before they eventually wed at the Four Seasons Hotel in Hampshire in 2022.
Billi has remained in the pair’s £5million family home in Essex following the split.
She has removed Andy from her social media feed after seeing a series of loved-up snaps of him and Lou, which she allegedly felt was rubbing it in her face.
