Russian President Vladimir Putin has doubled down on his core demand for an end to the war in Ukraine, saying Russia will lay down its arms only if Kiev forces withdraw from territory claimed by Moscow.
President Putin has long pushed for legal recognition of Ukrainian territory occupied by Russia. This includes southern Crimea, annexed in 2014, and the eastern Donbass region, now largely occupied by Moscow.
For Kiev, which has ruled out giving up the part of Donbas it still holds, compensating Russia for its aggression is a non-starter.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said after Putin’s speech that Russia had “disdained” efforts to “genuinely end the war.”
Speaking to reporters during a visit to Kyrgyzstan, Putin accused Kiev of wanting to fight “to the last Ukrainian” and said Russia was ready to do so “in principle.”
He reiterated his view that Russia has the lead on the battlefield and that fighting will only end when Ukrainian forces withdraw from Donbas, which consists of the Luhansk and Donetsk regions.
“If they do not withdraw, we will achieve this by force,” he said.
But Russia’s slow growth in eastern Ukraine has come at significant manpower costs. At this rate, it will take Moscow almost two more years to seize the rest of the Donetsk region, according to the US-based Institute for the Study of War.
Thursday’s remarks were the first time Putin has addressed a busy diplomatic row over the past week that has seen the United States and Ukraine engage in heated discussions over a peace plan reportedly drafted by U.S. and Russian officials in October.
The plan, which was heavily biased toward Moscow’s demands, was later revised at talks between Ukrainian and American negotiators in Geneva. European representatives were also in the Swiss city.
However, this is believed to not address the issue of occupied territories, which is the biggest sticking point between Moscow and Kiev, along with security guarantees for Ukraine.
Putin said a new draft plan has now been submitted to Russia, which could serve as the “foundation” for a future agreement to end the war.
However, he added that it was “absolutely necessary” to discuss “certain points that need to be expressed in diplomatic language.”
Questioned the possibility of Crimea and Donbas being recognized as Russian territories. in fact control But legally this is not the case, Putin said: “This is the point of our discussions with the American side.”
He confirmed that a US delegation, including Special Envoy Steve Witkoff, was scheduled to visit Moscow in the first half of next week. President Donald Trump told reporters that Witkoff’s son-in-law, Jared Kushner, may join him in Moscow.
Zelenskyy said in a video address late Thursday that Ukrainian and U.S. delegations would meet “to translate the points we secured in Geneva into a form that puts us on the path to ensuring peace and security.”
The Ukrainian president did not mention any names, but Chief of Staff Gen. Andriy Yermak said U.S. Army Secretary Dan Driscoll was scheduled to visit Kiev later this week.
On Wednesday, President Trump said “only a few differences remain” between Russia and Ukraine. This indicates that a meeting with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky to discuss these issues would be contingent on an agreed peace deal.
In an interview with reporters, Putin again expressed his disdain for Ukraine’s leadership and said he considers it illegal. So signing documents with them is “useless,” he added.
Ukraine was unable to hold scheduled elections due to martial law being imposed after Russia’s full-scale invasion began in February 2022. Earlier this year, Ukraine’s parliament unanimously confirmed the legitimacy of President Zelenskyy, whose term ends this spring.
Putin also dismissed warnings from European leaders that Russia could attack the continent in the coming decades.
“That sounds absolutely ridiculous to us,” he said.
The White House and Donald Trump have recently expressed optimism about a diplomatic push for peace talks, but Europeans have repeatedly expressed skepticism about whether Putin really intends to end the war.
European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen on Wednesday accused Russia of holding on to a post-World War II mentality and viewing the European continent as a “sphere of influence” into which sovereign states could be “divided.”
