Vladimir Putin

It is necessary to perfect this work, the protection of the top leadership of the state and the military.

— Putin; following the killing of General Dawydow; described the incident as an 'extremely serious misstep' by security forces and called for perfecting the protection of the top leadership of the state and the military.

The only point is for the Ukrainian side to halt the advance of our armed forces. But we need agreements - not for six months, not for three months, but for the long term.

— Vladimir Putin; remarks at Russia's annual economic forum in St. Petersburg on ceasefire and long-term agreements

"Several facilities have been damaged. Clean-up operations are currently underway. Several people have been injured. There have been no fatalities," Beglov said in a statement.— Alexander Beglov, governor of St. Petersburg, said in a statement

The fastest way there is to stabilize the front and then transition to negotiations.

— Volodymyr Zelensky, in a Sky News interview

Schröder was not in the Kremlin to congratulate Putin on this terrible war or to flatter him.

— Ralf Stegner, SPD foreign policy politician, commenting on Schröder's meeting with Putin in Moscow and saying Schröder was not in the Kremlin to congratulate Putin on this terrible war or flatter him.

When Russia grows tired, change will come.

— Volodymyr Zelensky in a public letter to the Russian president, urging direct peace talks.

"General Secretary Xi, your choice of Pyongyang for the first overseas trip this year fully reflects the great importance you attach to [North Korea]-China relations and the profound friendship between the two countries, which is a tremendous encouragement to the [North Korean] side," he said.— Kim Jong Un, North Korea's leader, during a meeting with Xi Jinping in Pyongyang; quoted by state media.

decided to open a new chapter in the sequence of their crimes, giving the conflict as a whole a new quality.

— Vladimir Putin, at a meeting with officials about the Ukrainian drone attack on Starobilsk on May 22

Even in the event that such a meeting were to take place, it does not mean that Russia is willing to negotiate. As long as the United States does not officially withdraw from the Ukraine war, Washington will remain Moscow's key negotiating partner.

— Klemens Fischer, Professor of International Relations and Geopolitics at the University of Cologne, in conversation with FOCUS online.