Russian President Vladimir Putin said his remarks on May 9 about the Ukraine war coming to an end were based on an analysis of Russian advances on the battlefield.
Putin, though, refused to give any specific timeline for an end to the war. He said on Friday that Western claims that Russia was preparing for war with Europe were lies.
He said that Western media should feel ashamed of themselves for their coverage of what Moscow said was a Ukrainian drone attack on a student dormitory in Russian-controlled Luhansk, which left 21 people dead.
On the other hand, President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said Russia is preparing a major new attack on Ukraine.
Speaking later in his nightly video address, Zelenskyy said: "We have intelligence information about Russia preparing a new large-scale strike."
"Our services are responding promptly and are prepared. The Air Force and other defenders of the sky will work 24/7, as they always do."
Russia said on Monday it intended to launch "systematic strikes" on targets in Kyiv and warned foreigners and diplomats to leave.
It said the action was in response to a drone strike last week on a dormitory in Ukraine's Russian-held Luhansk region, which killed 21 people. Ukraine denied carrying out the attack.
Russian strikes on Kiev and other areas of Ukraine last Sunday killed two people and injured dozens.
In a Telegram post, Zelenskyy called for further sanctions on Russia and said the implementation of agreements with partners on air defence must not be delayed.
