Russian President Vladimir Putin claimed that if the US stopped sending weapons to Ukraine, the war would be over "in weeks" in his interview with Tucker Carlson. Putin said it "goes against common sense" for the US to be involved in a "global war" that could bring "humanity to the brink of destruction." Putin also claimed peace talks with Ukraine had nearly been finalized, but Kyiv "threw away all these agreements" after Russian troops withdrew from areas like Kyiv. Mikhail Khodorkovsky, a former Russian oligarch and opposition leader, asserts that President Vladimir Putin's primary objective is to maintain power.