Moscow: Putin has doubled down on demands for Ukrainian territorial concessions, saying Russia will only halt its military campaign if Kyiv’s forces withdraw from areas claimed by Moscow.
The position has reinforced the Kremlin’s long-standing requirement that the territories occupied since 2014, including Crimea and most of the Donbas region, be recognised under Russian control.
Ukrainian leadership has ruled out surrendering the remaining parts of Donbas, arguing that acknowledging occupation would reward aggression. After Putin delivered the remarks, Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelensky said that Moscow had scorned attempts to meaningfully end the conflict.
During a visit to Kyrgyzstan, the Russian president accused Kyiv of intending to fight ‘to the last Ukrainian’, adding that Moscow was ‘in principle’ prepared to continue the conflict under those terms. Putin repeated that Russia held the battlefield initiative and insisted that fighting would only stop once Ukrainian forces withdrew from Donbas, warning that if they refused, Russia would attempt to enforce the withdrawal militarily.
Despite Moscow’s incremental gains, analysts have said that progress has come at significant cost. The Institute for the Study of War has assessed that the current pace could require nearly two years for Russia to take the remaining parts of the Donetsk region.
The comments have marked the leader’s first response to recent diplomatic activity involving the United States and Ukraine. Both sides have engaged in intensive discussions around a peace plan developed in October by American and Russian representatives, later revised in Geneva with Ukrainian and European input. However, the issue of occupied territories has remained unresolved.
Putin said that the updated draft had been received and that it could serve as a basis for a future agreement, but added that several points needed additional diplomatic clarification. When questioned about the possibility of recognising Crimea and Donbas as under Russian de facto control without legal status, he said that this point remained central to discussions with US counterparts.
A delegation led by US special envoy Steve Witkoff has been expected in Moscow next week, with speculation that Jared Kushner may accompany the group. Zelensky has said that Ukrainian and US delegations would continue work on translating the Geneva points into a plan providing security guarantees for Kyiv.
The Russian leader has reiterated his refusal to sign documents with Ukraine’s leadership, which he described as illegitimate. Ukraine has remained under martial law since the 2022 full-scale invasion and has been unable to conduct scheduled elections, though parliament unanimously affirmed Zelensky’s legitimacy earlier this year.
Putin dismissed claims by European leaders that Russia might expand its aggression beyond Ukraine, characterising such warnings as unfounded. Meanwhile, European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen has accused Moscow of maintaining a post–World War Two mindset that views Europe as a sphere where sovereign countries can be divided.
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