Murmansk, Russia - Russian President Vladimir Putin called Friday for a "transitional administration" to be put in place in Ukraine and vowed his army would "finish off" Kyiv's troops.

The US and Russia have grown close since President Donald Trump's return to office, and the US leader's threats to stop supporting Kyiv have bolstered Putin's confidence.

Ukraine fears it could be forced to accept a final peace deal on terms that are favorable to Moscow if it loses the support of its most important backer.

The renewed call to essentially topple Ukrainian leader Volodymyr Zelensky was the latest demonstration of Putin's long-standing desire to install a more Moscow-friendly regime in Kyiv.

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"We could, of course, discuss with the United States, even with European countries, and of course with our partners and friends, under the auspices of the UN, the possibility of establishing a transitional administration in Ukraine," Putin said on the sidelines of an Arctic forum.

"What for? To organize a democratic presidential election that would result in the coming to power of a competent government that would have the confidence of the people, and then begin negotiations with these authorities on a peace agreement and sign legitimate documents."

Moscow has repeatedly questioned Zelensky's "legitimacy" as Ukrainian president, after his initial five-year mandate ended in May 2024.

Under Ukrainian law, elections are suspended during times of martial law and military conflict, and Zelensky's major domestic opponents have all said elections should not be held until after the conflict.

Putin, in power for 25 years and repeatedly elected in votes with no competition, has throughout the conflict accused Ukraine of not being a democracy.

Putin also called for his troops to press their advantage on the battlefield and step up their attacks, even as he says Moscow has halted its strikes on Ukrainian energy targets.

"I was saying not so long ago: 'We will finish them off.' There are reasons to believe that we will finish them off," he said.

"We are gradually, not as fast as some would like, but nevertheless persistently and confidently moving toward achieving all the goals stated at the beginning of the special operation," the Kremlin leader added, using his term for the offensive.

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The US is pushing for a ceasefire between Moscow and Kyiv.

Putin rejected a joint US-Ukrainian proposal for an unconditional and full ceasefire, but says it has agreed not to strike Ukrainian energy targets for 30 days, with both sides accusing each other of breaking that pledge.

Zelensky met in Paris on Thursday with Ukraine's key European backers in a bid to strike a unified position of support against Trump's overhaul of US policy on Ukraine.

But he said that discussions led by France and Britain on a possible European troop deployment as part of any wider ceasefire or peace deal had left him with "many questions" and "few answers."