Russian President Vladimir Putin claimed on Sunday that Russia is ready for talks to end the war in Ukraine.

Putin said in a state television interview, excerpts of which were released on Sunday afternoon and quoted by The Associated Press, that Russia is “prepared to negotiate some acceptable outcomes with all the participants of this process.”

He added that “it’s not us who refuse talks, it’s them”.

Putin also repeated that Moscow has “no other choice” and said he believed the Kremlin was “acting in the right direction.”

“We’re defending our national interests, the interests of our citizens, our people,” he said, according to AP.

Despite Putin’s remarks, attacks on Ukraine continue. A country-wide air raid alert was announced twice on Sunday alone, and three missiles in the afternoon hit the city of Kramatorsk in the partially occupied Donetsk region, local officials reported.

On Saturday, a deadly Russian attack on the southern city of Kherson, retaken by Ukrainian forces last month, killed and wounded scores of people.

The Russian forces shelled Ukrainian-held areas of the partially occupied Kherson region 71 times over the past 24 hours, including 41 attacks on the city of Kherson, the region’s Ukrainian governor Yaroslav Yanushevich reported on Sunday.

Putin’s remarks came several days after Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy made a historic visit to Washington.

During the visit, Zelenskyy met with US President Joe Biden, who committed nearly $1.8 billion in military supplies including, for the first time, the Patriot missile defense system.

He also addressed a joint session of Congress, where he was received with applause.

A day after the visit, Russia accused Ukraine and the United States of turning a deaf ear to its concerns.

"We can say with regret that so far neither President Biden nor President Zelensky have said even a few words that could be perceived as potential readiness to listen to Russia's concerns," Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters.

"Not a single word was heard warning Zelenskyy against the continued shelling of residential buildings in towns and villages in Donbas and there were no real calls for peace," Peskov added.

"This suggests that the United States is continuing its line of de facto fighting an indirect war with Russia to the last Ukrainian," he stated.