Russian President Vladimir Putin warned on Wednesday that Moscow would seek to expand its gains in Ukraine if Kyiv and its Western allies reject the Kremlin’s demands in peace talks.
After Russia launched a full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, U.S. President Donald Trump launched a broad diplomatic push to end nearly four years of fighting, but Washington’s efforts have been met with the demands of a serious conflict between Moscow and Kiev.
Putin told an annual meeting with senior military officers that Moscow preferred to achieve its goals through diplomacy and “eliminate the causes of the conflict,” but added that “if the other side and its foreign sponsors refuse to engage in substantive dialogue, Russia will achieve the liberation of its historical lands through military means.”
Ukraine and its Western allies view Russia’s actions as a violation of their sovereignty and an unprovoked act of aggression.
Putin claimed that “the Russian army has seized and firmly grasped the strategic initiative on the entire front line” and warned Moscow that it would take action to expand the “buffer safety zone” along the Russian border.
He said: “Our army is different now. They are battle-hardened. There is no other army like this in the world.”
Putin praised Russia’s growing military capabilities and singled out the modernization of its atomic arsenal, which includes a new nuclear-capable medium-range Oreshnik ballistic missile, which he said will officially enter combat status this month. Russia first tested a conventionally armed version of the Oreshnik missile in November 2024 to attack a Ukrainian factory, which Putin boasted was impossible to intercept.
Moscow and Kiev have very different requirements
Putin’s tough statement follows several rounds of talks with Ukrainians this week. U.S. and European officials discuss a U.S.-drafted peace plan. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said after meeting with the U.S. envoy in Berlin that the document could be completed within days, after which the U.S. envoy would submit it to the Kremlin.
Putin wants all of the four key regions held by his troops, as well as Crimea, which was illegally annexed in 2014, to be recognized as Russian territory. He also demanded that Ukraine withdraw its troops from some areas of eastern Ukraine that Moscow’s forces have not yet occupied.
The Kremlin also insisted that Ukraine give up joining NATO and warned that Ukraine would not accept the deployment of any troops from NATO members and would regard them as “legitimate targets.”
Zelensky said Ukraine was prepared to abandon NATO membership if the United States and other Western countries provided Kyiv with security guarantees similar to those provided to NATO members. But Ukraine still prefers joining NATO as the best security guarantee against further Russian aggression.
At the same time, Zelensky has rejected Moscow’s demands to withdraw troops from other areas that Russia cannot seize by force.
The Ukrainian leader called the draft peace plan discussed with the United States during talks in Berlin on Monday “not perfect” but “very feasible,” noting that Kyiv and its allies were very close to agreeing on “strong security guarantees.” But he also stressed that the key issue of territorial control remained unresolved and rejected U.S. push for Ukraine to give up control of the eastern Donetsk region.
Russian military seeks more gains
Defense Minister Andrei Belousov, reporting to Putin at a military meeting on Wednesday, detailed plans for a further push, saying Russia’s latest advances in Donetsk laid the foundation for a rapid push into the Ukrainian-controlled region.
Belousov also claimed that Russian forces were preparing to drive Ukrainian forces out of parts of the Zaporozhye region that Moscow also annexed in 2022 but never fully captured, and to expand its gains in neighboring Dnipropetrovsk.
“The key thing next year is to maintain and increase the tempo of the offense,” he said.
Belousov laid out plans to expand Russia’s military capabilities, focusing on drones, jamming equipment and air defense assets.
Air strikes continue
As Russia continues to make impressive advances on many front lines, it is also conducting daily missile and drone strikes against Ukraine.
Russian glide bombs in and around Zaporozhye injured at least 26 people, said Ivan Fedorov, head of the regional administration. The attack damaged several residential buildings, infrastructure and educational facilities.
The Ukrainian Air Force said Russia launched at least 69 long-range drones overnight. In the morning, air defense systems intercepted or disrupted 29 drones, and attacks continued during the day.
The Russian Defense Ministry said its air defense systems shot down 94 Ukrainian drones overnight.
Drones injured two people and damaged several private houses in Russia’s southern Krasnodar region, according to regional emergency officials. In the southwestern Voronezh region, Governor Alexander Gusev said drone debris damaged infrastructure wires, sparking fires that were quickly extinguished.
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