Putin says Russia will bolster its air defenses in response to Ukrainian drone attacks

ST. PETERSBURG, Russia (AP) — President Vladimir Putin said Thursday that Russia will strengthen its air defenses to counter recent Ukrainian drone attacks, which have reached deep inside his country and cast a cloud over his showcase economic forum in his hometown of St. Petersburg.

Speaking in response to a question from The Associated Press during a meeting with heads of international news agencies, Putin acknowledged the damage from Ukrainian drone attacks.

“To our regret, some of them break through,” Putin said of the drone strikes. “Russia has an air defense system, we need to improve it, strengthen it, and we will do that.”

The wide-ranging media session came on the sidelines of the St. Petersburg International Economic Forum, his annual showcase for investment. Hours before the forum opened Wednesday, a Ukrainian drone attack set ablaze an oil terminal in the city and also hit a nearby naval base.

Putin also said Russia is open for a compromise on Ukraine in line with understandings reached at his summit with U.S. President Donald Trump in Anchorage, Alaska, adding that Ukraine needs to accept them to make a deal to end the conflict, now in its fifth year.

Also on Thursday, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy proposed face-to-face negotiations in a public letter addressed directly to Putin. Zelenskyy acknowledged shifting U.S. priorities, saying it would be wrong to wait for the U.S. to return its attention to Ukraine while it is remains heavily focused on the Iran war.

In Washington, Trump said it “would be great” if Putin and Zelenskyy meet.

Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said Putin hadn’t seen the letter yet and repeated his statement that Zelenskyy could come to Moscow if he wants talks. Putin said last month he doesn’t exclude a meeting in s third country, but only when there is a deal to sign.

Putin dismissed the idea that European Union countries could mediate Russia-Ukraine peace talks because “mediation assumes neutrality. Where is the neutrality here?”

Any potential third-party mediators needed to be trusted by both sides, Putin said.

“How can Russia trust people who have been harping about the need to inflict a strategic defeat on Russia for years?” he said.

Commenting on Russia's use of its Oreshnik intermediate range ballistic missile, Putin said it was fired at targets that allowed it to test its capability and precision before using it against objectives closer to residential areas.

“We hit the area where it was convenient to see the results,” he said. “It was important for making a decision on the future on the full-format use of the Oreshnik on designated targets, including those in populated areas.”

Putin emphasized his push for control of the entire Donetsk region in eastern Ukraine, noting that Ukraine controls about 15% of its territory.

Putin declared that “patriotism and will of the Russian people” will ensure the achievement of goals that Moscow set in Ukraine.

“Russian troops are advancing along the entire line of contact,” he said.

Putin said he has accepted Trump’s compromise proposals from the Alaska summit, saying they could “serve as a basis of agreements between Russia and Ukraine and put an end to the conflict."

Moscow wants a comprehensive settlement, not a temporary truce, he said.

“There is no need to suspend the hostilities to start negotiations,” he said. “Naturally, the Ukrainian side would like us to suspend the advances made by Russian troops. But it would be better to end the war by agreeing to the compromises that were discussed in Anchorage.”

Asked about an AP investigation tracking 191 incidents across Europe, including sabotage, cyberattacks, attempted assassination and other activity that Western officials say are part of a Russian-masterminded campaign, Putin replied there was no detailed proof of Moscow's involvement.

“What are the specific facts? What has been proven?” he said, adding that the accusations showed that Europe was not ready to talk to Russia as an equal partner.

“This only shows that certain political figures in the West are trying to carry out aggressive plans against the Russian Federation,” he said.

Asked whether Russia could contribute to a settlement of the war in Iran, Putin responded that Moscow’s proposal to take enriched uranium from Iran for storage remains on the table. He noted Russia did so as part of the 2015 deal between Iran and world powers, "and we are ready to do it now.”

Putin, 73, who has held power in Russia for over a quarter-century, was asked if he planned to run for another term that would keep him in office until 2036, when he'll be 83. He laughed and said he’s “not even thinking about it.”

“Only God knows if any of us will be healthy enough ... to survive until tomorrow, the day after tomorrow, much less solve the problems we face and achieve the goals we set for ourselves,” he said.

In 2020, Putin ordered amendments to the Russian Constitution that essentially reset his term limits, keeping him in power.

Wednesday's drone attack hit the nearby Kronstadt naval base and an oil terminal, sending a plume of black smoke above Russia’s second-largest city — an embarrassing blow to Putin's efforts to cast the conflict as a distant event that doesn’t affect Russian daily life.

It also underscored Kyiv’s growing ability to hit deep inside Russia and showed the vulnerability of its cities. Scores of flights were delayed or diverted at St. Petersburg’s airport and authorities cut cellphone internet service to try to prevent drone attacks.

Putin had scaled down Russia’s annual Victory Day parade on May 9, fearing Ukrainian strikes. Days later, a massive drone attack on Moscow’s suburbs killed three and showed the capital’s vulnerability.

Peskov said Russia’s forces were carrying out “systematic” strikes on Kyiv. On Tuesday, Russia launched deadly attacks on Kyiv and other Ukrainian cities.

Putin has used the St. Petersburg forum, likened to the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, to showcase his country’s economic advances and encourage foreign investment. While Western officials and business leaders have stayed away after Putin sent troops into Ukraine in 2022, Russia has sought guests from elsewhere to underline its declared goal of promoting a “multipolar world.”

Saudi Arabia sent a large delegation this year, and the presidents of Uzbekistan and Tanzania and vice president of China also are present. A U.S. official, Rodney Mims Cook Jr., head of the U.S. Commission of Fine Arts, is attending for the first time in years.

Russia’s economic outlook has clouded as the initial boost from military spending has fizzled. The government raised taxes and increased domestic borrowing to keep its budget deficit under control.

Asked at the media session if Russia’s economy was struggling because of the military action, Putin paraphrased Mark Twain that “rumors of my death are highly exaggerated.”

He said the economy was growing but admitted that inflation was a concern.

“We’ve deliberately taken steps to cool the economy,” Putin said of Russia’s Central Bank putting the country’s key interest rate at 14.5%, which he called “a difficult decision.”

“You can say we’ve cooled off, or you can say we haven’t done everything yet, but these are deliberate steps. We don’t want inflation – hyperinflation -- to reach 60-80%, as it is some countries,” he said. “We’re fighting for the health of the Russian economy as a whole.”

The Associated Press News Director of Europe/Africa James Jordan, center, attends Russian President Vladimir Putin's meeting with representatives of international news agencies on the sidelines of the St. Petersburg International Economic Forum at the Constantine Palace in St. Petersburg, Russia, on Thursday, June 4, 2026. (AP Photo/Dmitri Lovetsky, Pool)

Russian President Vladimir Putin gestures during a meeting with representatives of international news agencies on the sidelines of the St. Petersburg International Economic Forum at the Constantine Palace in St. Petersburg, Russia, on Thursday, June 4, 2026. (Alexander Kazakov, Sputnik, Kremlin Pool Photo via AP)

Russian President Vladimir Putin, center, looks at President of Xinhua News Agency Fu Hua, right, while speaking to representatives of international news agencies as General Director of the Russian news agency TASS, Andrey Kondrashov, left, sits near on the sidelines of the St. Petersburg International Economic Forum at the Constantine Palace in St. Petersburg, Russia, on Thursday, June 4, 2026. (AP Photo/Dmitri Lovetsky, Pool)

Russian President Vladimir Putin, foreground answers to a question by The Associated Press News Director of Europe/Africa James Jordan, back to a camera as he meets with representatives of international news agencies on the sidelines of the St. Petersburg International Economic Forum at the Constantine Palace in St. Petersburg, Russia, on Thursday, June 4, 2026. (AP Photo/Dmitri Lovetsky, Pool)

Russian President Vladimir Putin, background third right, meets with representatives of international news agencies on the sidelines of the St. Petersburg International Economic Forum at the Constantine Palace in St. Petersburg, Russia, on Thursday, June 4, 2026. (AP Photo/Dmitri Lovetsky, Pool)

Russian President Vladimir Putin meets with representatives of international news agencies on the sidelines of the St. Petersburg International Economic Forum at the Constantine Palace in St. Petersburg, Russia, on Thursday, June 4, 2026. (AP Photo/Dmitri Lovetsky, Pool)

Russian President Vladimir Putin speaks to representatives of international news agencies on the sidelines of the St. Petersburg International Economic Forum at the Constantine Palace in St. Petersburg, Russia, on Thursday, June 4, 2026. (AP Photo/Dmitri Lovetsky, Pool)

People walk past a screen with an image of Russian President Vladimir Putin at an exhibition at the St. Petersburg International Economic Forum in St.Petersburg, Russia, on Thursday, June 4, 2026. (Anatoly Maltsev/Pool Photo via AP)

Russian President Vladimir Putin chairs a meeting on measures to support relatives of those killed and injured in the attack on a college in Starobilsk, of the Russia-controlled Luhansk region of Ukraine, at the Kremlin in Moscow, Monday, June 1, 2026. (Vyacheslav Prokofyev/Sputnik, Kremlin Pool Photo via AP)

A plumes of black smoke is seen over the port of St. Petersburg, Russia, Wednesday, June 3, 2026, after a Ukrainian drone attack. (AP Photo)

A plume of black smoke is seen over the port of St. Petersburg, Russia, Wednesday, June 3, 2026, after a Ukrainian drone attack. (AP Photo)

WASHINGTON (AP) — The newly drained Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool's bottom surface has noticeably faded since it was lined with a protective coating in a color President Donald Trump called “American flag blue” this spring.

An Associated Press reporter and photographer viewed the fenced-off Reflecting Pool on Wednesday from the top of the Washington Monument. The new liner appears grayer than when the pool was repainted and refilled with water in early June. Debris that had been visible earlier this week after the pool was drained is now largely gone, after work crews removed it.

Trump’s problem-plagued effort to revamp the landmark has stretched well past his initial goal of having the Reflecting Pool ready by July 4 for the nation’s 250th birthday.

The president at first suggested his renovations would cost $1.5 million, but the bill ballooned to more than $16 million by June.

Trump had said the repairs would last a century, but within days of the project's initial completion last month, the water was beset by an algae bloom and pieces of the new coating appeared to be peeling off the bottom.

Ohio-based Green Water Solutions, also known as Greenwater Services, was given a $1.7 million contract to install a water-purification system in the Reflecting Pool, while Virginia-based Atlantic Industrial Coatings was awarded $14.7 million to repaint and waterproof the pool’s concrete floor.

Trump has repeatedly blamed vandals for the peeling paint, though critics allege it’s from shoddy repair work.

Trump has said, without citing evidence, that vandals made a “350-foot gash” in the liner and caused other problems. No large slash marks were immediately visible Wednesday from the Washington Monument view. It was not possible to do a more up-close inspection of the entire pool due to a dark fence surrounding the perimeter.

Interior Secretary Doug Burgum, whose agency oversees the National Park Service, said that after the water is drained and debris is cleaned from Independence Day fireworks, the plan for the pool is straightforward: “Repair the vandalism that was done. Fill it back up again." He was speaking with conservative podcaster Katie Miller.

Court documents show that the National Park Service reported to the U.S. Park Police a June 9 incident in which a sharp knife or razor was said to have cut the pool’s new liner.

Former Olympic canoe racer David Hearn pleaded not guilty last week in D.C. Superior Court to deliberately damaging the Reflecting Pool. Hearn has said he reached inside the pool to examine the peeled sealant and let go of a chunk when he was told to by a park worker.

His attorneys and other Trump administration critics have derided the case as an abuse of prosecutorial power and maintain he is being scapegoated for the poor job done fixing up the Reflecting Pool.

At least three other people have been charged in the same court with misdemeanors for allegedly removing pieces of paint from the pool, court records show. All three pleaded not guilty during initial court appearances.

The work on the Reflecting Pool is just one of a number of projects Trump has spearheaded across the nation’s capital. Most prominently, he demolished the White House’s East Wing to build a $400 million ballroom and plans to build a towering arch. between the Lincoln Memorial and Arlington National Cemetery.

National Park Service workers investigate the Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool in Washington, Wednesday, July 15, 2026, in Washington. (AP Photo/Rahmat Gul)

The Reflecting Pool, Washington Monument and U.S. Capitol are seen, Wednesday, July 15, 2026, in Washington. (AP Photo/Rahmat Gul)

The Reflecting Pool is seen from the Washington Monument, Wednesday, July 15, 2026. in Washington. (AP Photo/Rahmat Gul)

The Reflecting Pool is seen from the Washington Monument, Wednesday, July 15, 2026. in Washington. (AP Photo/Rahmat Gul)

The Lincoln Memorial and the Reflecting Pool are seen from the Washington Monument, Wednesday, July 15, 2026, in Washington. (AP Photo/Rahmat Gul)