President Vladimir V. Putin of Russia has pledged to continue his escalating war against Ukraine and support for Iran in its conflict with the United States, ending a two-day appearance at a summit in Kyrgyzstan with a note of defiance .<\/p>\n
The Russian leader also expressed his comfort in dealing with President Trump\u2019s special envoys, Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner, in peace negotiations over Ukraine \u2014 a pointed declaration days after the C.I.A. director arrived for a rare visit to Moscow and made a case to his Russian counterpart for ending the war.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe are completely comfortable working with people we know well and generally trust,\u201d Mr. Putin said, noting that the two envoys have Mr. Trump\u2019s trust and a direct line to the American president. \u201cThese are people close to President Trump.\u201d<\/p>\n
Asked about trip by the C.I.A. director, John Ratcliffe, Mr. Putin said direct contacts between the heads of intelligence agencies had taken place even at tense moments during the Cold War. He noted that negotiations were \u201ccurrently frozen, to a certain extent.\u201d<\/p>\n
The Russian leader spoke during and after a meeting of the 10-nation political and security grouping known as the Shanghai Cooperation Organization<\/a> in Bishkek, the Kyrgyz capital.<\/p>\n His appearance there came as the war in Ukraine has entered a new and more dangerous stage, with escalating air attacks by both sides against targets that often lack sufficient air defenses to protect them.<\/p>\n For months, Ukraine has been pummeling Russian oil refineries, ships and e-commerce warehouses with long-range strikes. The attacks have caused gasoline shortages<\/a> across Russia and disrupted the Russian economy<\/a>. Ukrainian forces have also isolated Crimea<\/a> and held back Mr. Putin\u2019s troops on the battlefield, where Moscow\u2019s progress has slowed. Ukrainian strikes damaged about 100 Russian ships over 40 days, according to Mr. Putin, who said the loss was equivalent to 1 percent of Russia\u2019s gross domestic product.<\/p>\n Russia has begun an aggressive escalation in response to Ukraine\u2019s strikes, carrying out relentless bombardments with new jet-powered drones, increasing attacks on the Ukrainian capital, Kyiv, and threatening Ukraine\u2019s grain exports by taking aim at its Black Sea ports.<\/p>\n Mr. Putin leaned in to that pugnacious response in his comments in Bishkek, saying the Russian military had been given orders to carry out mass strikes against the energy infrastructure of Ukraine. He said Russia\u2019s strikes were jeopardizing Ukraine\u2019s agricultural exports and risking a financial crisis. <\/p>\n \u201cI\u2019m not saying we\u2019ll collapse the economy there, but it\u2019s a serious challenge for them,\u201d Mr. Putin said.<\/p>\n When asked about comments<\/a> by the Ukrainian president, Volodymyr Zelensky, that civilian aircraft would not be safe in Russia, owing to Ukrainian drones, Mr. Putin called the remark \u201cstate terrorism.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cAnd I\u2019d draw attention to the fact that they are the ones asking us to resume negotiations, asking for personal meetings,\u201d he said, referring to Mr. Zelensky\u2019s requests to meet with Mr. Putin. \u201cNegotiations are not conducted with terrorists.\u201d<\/p>\n The developments in the war have caused a wave of anxiety in Russia about a possible new draft after parliamentary elections later this month. In his comments, Mr. Putin called such suggestions \u201cnonsense.\u201d<\/p>\n Earlier in the day, Mr. Putin met with President Masoud Pezeshkian of Iran and pledged his continued support for what he called the Iranian people\u2019s \u201ccourage and resilience\u201d in defending their national interests.<\/p>\n Since Mr. Trump launched his war against Iran with Israel in late February, Russia has backed<\/a> the Iranians with intelligence, including on U.S. assets in the Persian Gulf, and shipped<\/a> drone components to Tehran via the Caspian Sea. The United States and Iran resumed trading strikes this week after what had been a weekslong hiatus in fighting.<\/p>\n \u201cDuring this difficult time, we are trying to provide you with the assistance you need,\u201d Mr. Putin told the Iranian leader in Bishkek. \u201cWe have discussed this with you and are supplying you with the necessary goods.\u201d<\/p>\n The New York Times reported<\/a> that Mr. Ratcliffe, the C.I.A. director, traveled to Moscow in recent days to deliver a bleak assessment of the toll and trajectory of Russia\u2019s war effort in Ukraine and urge its leaders to cut a deal. U.S. intelligence officials have long believed that Mr. Putin isn\u2019t getting an accurate battlefield picture from his subordinates.<\/p>\n During the news conference, Mr. Putin said he had many sources of information that together formed an objective view of the battlefield.<\/p>\n He said Russian forces had taken 270 square kilometers of territory in Ukraine\u2019s Donetsk region in August. Statistics from Deep State, a Ukrainian group that maps changes to the frontline<\/a>, show Russia taking only 26 square kilometers in the region.<\/p>\n