Russian President Vladimir Putin told an audience Tuesday that Russia was going through "difficult times" as its invasion of Ukraine continues, but said national pride was growing.
"Yes, Russia is going through difficult times now; things have never been easy, but, still, today we are seeing a moment of our common consolidation, with our national pride being sharpened," Putin told an awards ceremony, according to comments reported by state news agency Tass.
Elsewhere, the Kremlin said Wednesday that it's premature to talk about a peaceful settlement, with Putin's press secretary Dmitry Peskov saying the preconditions for an end to the conflict did not yet exist.
When asked by reporters which peace proposals were closest to Russia's position, Peskov said:"It is premature to talk about this as long as there are no prerequisites for a peaceful settlement.
The special military operation continues," as Russia calls its unprovoked invasion of its neighbor.