'Putin needs a punch!' Ukrainian politician warns Russian 'bullies' won't negotiate ceasefire unless West ramps up pressure

Ustinova said: "[Putin's] a bully who cannot be negotiated, who needs to be punished, and who needs to be put at the negotiation table."

The politician backed Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, stating that he has been "very clear" and is "not going to give up territories or people".

Zelenskyy vowed to reporters that he "will do everything to ensure [a] meeting takes place" between himself and Putin.

However, Ustinova stated the problem "is that Putin has already promised his people" land, and "put it in the constitution".

She said: "The problem is that so far it's been Putin who has been setting up the red lines for us or the Western countries saying, 'oh, if you do that, I'm going to do the nukes or I'm not going to do the ceasefire if Ukraine does not say no to NATO.'

"It's [Putin] setting up the red lines for the rest of the world, not the entire democratic world."

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When questioned on the number of casualties during the war, Ustinova said there is a "misunderstanding" in the western world about the Russians.

She stated: "I remember the calculations at the beginning of the war were if he loses 100,000 people, he's going to stop. Then it was 200,000 people.

"Then it was half a million. He's not going to stop. The problem is, it's not Putin's war. It's Russia's war.

"The majority of Russians support the invasion of Ukraine, killing Ukrainian children and raping Ukrainian women."

Ustinova explained that Putin "does not care" how many people die, and he has partners "like North Korea who are willing to send him people".

She added: "Don't look at the numbers. We need to be thinking strategically in terms of operations.

"If he loses three airfields because we have missiles to hit those, he will have to move and think twice whether he wants to come back or not.

"We need to control the air, and we need to control the buffer zone. This is going to be what the actual achievement is."