Russian President Vladimir Putin’s latest call for an interim government in Ukraine, supervised by the United Nations, underscores the surreal disconnect between the Kremlin and reality. Putin claims such a government would enable Ukraine to achieve peace and stability—ironically, both of which he directly undermined through his ongoing invasion and relentless assault on Ukrainian sovereignty.

The suggestion that Ukraine’s leadership is illegitimate and in need of external administration ignores a glaringly obvious reality: It is Russia that desperately needs an interim administration. Putin’s government has not only failed the Ukrainian people through war and destruction but has increasingly failed Russians themselves through economic mismanagement, rampant corruption, authoritarian crackdowns, and international isolation.

Under Putin’s leadership, Russia has moved steadily away from any semblance of democracy, with political opposition effectively eradicated, free media silenced, and dissenting voices imprisoned or exiled. Domestically, economic instability worsens daily, as sanctions isolate the Russian economy, driving citizens further into hardship. Internationally, Russia’s aggressive actions in Ukraine have turned it into a global pariah state, alienated even by traditional allies.

Putin’s strategy of interference in Ukraine is a transparent effort to distract from his internal governance failures. The global community should dismiss Putin’s call for interim governance in Ukraine for what it truly is: an empty maneuver designed to legitimize Russia’s illegal occupation and destabilize Ukrainian governance. Instead, international attention should pivot to the urgent need for democratic accountability and transitional governance within Russia itself.

If Putin genuinely seeks peace, he must start at home, stepping aside to allow a neutral, internationally supervised transitional government to take hold in Russia, with a clear mandate to restore democracy, human rights, and rule of law. Until then, his calls for interference in Ukraine are nothing more than hollow provocations deserving swift dismissal by the international community.