Russian President Vladimir Putin has doubled down on his core conditions for ending the war in Ukraine, saying that Russia will stop fighting only if Ukrainian forces withdraw from all territories claimed by Moscow.
Putin has long demanded legal recognition of the Ukrainian regions Russia has seized by force, including the Crimean Peninsula, annexed in 2014, and the Donbas region, large parts of which are currently under Russian occupation.
For Kyiv — which has ruled out surrendering the portions of Donbas it still controls — rewarding Russia for its aggression remains unacceptable, according to reporting by the BBC, relayed by Gazeta Express.
Following Putin’s latest remarks, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said Russia had “disrespected” genuine efforts to end the war.
Speaking to journalists during a visit to Kyrgyzstan, Putin accused Kyiv of wanting to fight “to the last Ukrainian”, adding that Russia was also “in principle” prepared for such a scenario.
He repeated his assertion that Russia holds the initiative on the battlefield, insisting the fighting would stop only when Ukrainian troops withdraw from the Donbas, which includes the regions of Luhansk and Donetsk.
“If they do not withdraw, we will achieve this by force of arms,” Putin said.
However, Russia’s slow advances in eastern Ukraine have come at a significant human cost. According to the U.S.-based Institute for the Study of War, at the current pace it could take nearly two more years for Moscow to seize the remainder of the Donetsk region.
