Putin refers to Ukraine 'war', says he wants to end it

STORY: Referring to the conflict in Ukraine as a ‘war’ - Russian President Vladimir Putin said during a press conference in Moscow on Thursday, that he wants to end the fighting and that this would inevitably involve a diplomatic solution.

PUTIN: "Our goal is not to spin the flywheel of military conflict, but, on the contrary, to end this war. (BACK IN SHOT) We are striving for this and will continue to strive."

During the 10 months of conflict-- Putin has consistently called Russia’s invasion of Ukraine a special military operation and not a war.

U.S. officials were quick to cast doubt on Putin’s intentions.

White House spokesman John Kirby said Putin has not shown any interest in negotiating an end to the war.

Kirby told reporters during an online briefing: "Everything Putin is doing on the ground and in the air bespeaks a man who wants to continue to visit violence upon the Ukrainian people" and "escalate the war."

Russia has persistently said it is open to negotiations, but Ukraine and its allies suspect a ploy to buy time after a series of Russian defeats have swung the momentum of the 10-month war in favor of Kyiv.

Putin’s comments come a day after U.S. President Joe Biden hosted Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy at the White House – promising the Ukrainian leader unwavering U.S. support, and announcing a new $1.85 billion military aid package which includes the Patriot air defense system.

It's one of the most advanced U.S. air defense systems, capable of intercepting threats, such as aircraft and ballistic missiles.

But Putin on Thursday downplayed the Patriot system, saying it was "quite old" and did not work like Russia's S-300 system.

The Kremlin said the U.S. supplying it would not contribute to settling the conflict in Ukraine... or prevent Russia from achieving its goals.