According to three of the people, the Russian president had voiced his displeasure with what he saw as Western-backed efforts to obstruct cease-fire talks.
Putin is prepared to freeze the battle and fight for as long as it takes, according to a senior Russian source who has supposedly worked with Mr. Putin and is aware of high-level discussions inside the Kremlin, who spoke to Reuters.
According to them, Mr. Putin cannot agree to a freeze of the fighting along the current lines since doing so would give Russia control over significant portions of four Ukrainian regions, but not the entire country.
