Pistorius says Putin may be misleading public about ending war
German Defense Minister Boris Pistorius, Kyiv, May 11, 2026 (Photo: REUTERS/Valentyn Ogirenko)
German Defense Minister Boris Pistorius said Kremlin leader Vladimir Putin may be attempting to deceive the public with his recent remarks suggesting Russia’s war against Ukraine is nearing an end.
“Through this approach, Putin is ultimately trying to distract attention from his own weakness. At this point, he can hardly point to any territorial gains, while his army continues losing parts of the territory it conquered,” Pistorius said during a briefing with Ukrainian Deputy Prime Minister and Digital Transformation Minister Mykhailo Fedorov on May 11, according to Interfax-Ukraine.
“Precisely because Putin continues deceiving and manipulating the public, we as Ukraine’s partners have a duty to further strengthen Ukraine militarily,” the German minister added.
Pistorius also said that if Putin genuinely wanted to end the war, “he could simply withdraw his troops or offer real negotiations without preconditions.”
“And the supposedly three-day ceasefire over the weekend was violated once again,” he added.
Putin made the remarks on May 10 following Russia’s heavily scaled-down Victory Day parade in Moscow on May 9.
“I think things are moving toward a conclusion, although this is still a serious matter,” the Russian dictator said, referring to the war against Ukraine.
Putin also claimed Ukraine and the West had expected Russia to suffer a crushing defeat and collapse “within a few months,” but argued that this had not happened.
At the same time, analysts from Institute for the Study of War (ISW) said there are currently no signs Russia intends to halt combat operations.
The analysts also noted that Putin justified the absence of military hardware at the May 9 parade by saying Russian forces must “focus on the final defeat of Ukraine.”
According to ISW, those comments demonstrate Moscow remains committed to its maximalist goal of forcing Ukraine’s capitulation.
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