"Zelensky is in a very difficult position. He stopped receiving money, there are not enough shells for him abroad, he has restless situation inside the country, there are many dissatisfied people. He needs to camouflage his positions with something. And that is why he disguises it with such absurd decrees. It is unlikely that this can help the Kiev regime in any way, the difficulties will only increase. This is despite the fact that for sure there are still more or less bright minds who understand what needs to be done to get out of this situation," Peskov said, commenting on Zelensky's decree "On the territories of the Russian Federation historically inhabited by Ukrainians."
Peskov added that Zelensky's territorial claims to Russia are an attempt to hide problems that the Kiev ‘regime’ is currently facing.
“This is not stupidity. This is probably an attempt to somehow try to hide the problems that the Kiev regime is accumulating. Zelenskyy has really big problems. And it seems like he should have already understood what needs to be done to stop all this. But he doesn't want to," the spokesman told reporters, adding that the Ukrainian president tries to maintain support of his people but fails.
More and more Ukrainians are having doubts about Kiev’s decision to “continue bloodshed,” the spokesman said.
Earlier this week, Zelenskyy named a number of Russian regions, including Belgorod and Kursk, as territories “historically inhabited” by Ukrainians and instructed the government to draw a plan on how to preserve the national identity of Ukrainians who live in this area.
The Kremlin spokesman further noted that Russia values the fact that there are some voices in Europe that talk about the need to hold a dialogue to resolve the conflict in Ukraine.
“The fact that there are voices of those Europeans, ... who are gradually beginning to understand the harmfulness of this [confrontational] approach, is encouraging. Who, despite all the existing disagreements, talk about the need to get out of the current situation through dialogue, and not through war,” he told reporters.
The spokesperson touched upon Vladimir Putin's meetings with other foreign leaders. He confirmed that the Russian president will hold a meeting with his Belarusian counterpart Alexander Lukashenko later this week.
"It will be soon, it will be before the end of this week," Peskov added.
The spokesperson also commented on the president's state visits. He announced that Putin has no plans to visit North Korea before the end of March, 2024.
"No, there are no plans for that," Peskov noted.
European Countries Often Make Statements About ‘Danger’ From Russia
Peskov weighted in on the sentiment of the "Russian threat", shared among some EU countries, commenting on German Defense Minister Boris Pistorius' recent statement about a possible military conflict with Moscow.
Earlier in January, Pistorius said that Russia could attack a NATO country "one day."
"Now all European capitals are racing to declare an ephemeral danger that allegedly comes from Russia," Peskov told reporters.
The spokesman also said that the Europeans have spent "a lot of money" on Ukraine but now they see that their investment "failed."
The economic situation in Europe is "getting difficult," Peskov added.