Putin Threatens To Expand Military Operations In Ukraine If Negotiations Collapse

Russian President Vladimir Putin has issued a warning that Moscow intends to pursue additional territorial advances in Ukraine should Kyiv and its Western supporters turn down the Kremlin’s conditions during peace negotiations.

During Wednesday’s annual conference with senior military commanders, he stated Moscow’s preference would be to accomplish its objectives and “eliminate the root causes of the conflict” through diplomatic channels.

However, he stated that “if the opposing side and its foreign patrons refuse to engage in substantive dialogue, Russia will achieve the liberation of its historical lands by military means.”

US President Donald Trump is actively pursuing a peace settlement to conclude nearly four years of warfare that commenced with Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022.

Nevertheless, Washington confronts starkly opposing requirements from both Moscow and Kyiv.

“We are ready to hold talks and to resolve all the issues that have arisen in recent years by peaceful means,”Putin told the meeting.

“The U.S. administration is showing such readiness, and we are conducting dialogue with them. I hope the same will happen with Europe.”

Yet Putin suggested that achieving a peace settlement with Europeans was “unlikely” with the “current political elites”.

“But in any case it will become inevitable as we continue to strengthen. If not with the current politicians, then with a change of political elites in Europe,” he said.

Kyiv and its European partners view Russia’s conduct as a breach of Ukrainian sovereignty and an unprovoked act of aggression.

Related: Putin Says It Is Impossible For Ukraine To Defeat Russia

Putin asserted that the Russian army “has seized and is firmly holding strategic initiative all along the front line”.

He cautioned that Moscow would pursue the expansion of a “buffer security zone” along the Russian border.

Putin additionally highlighted Russia’s expanding military capabilities and specifically referenced the modernization of its atomic arsenal.

His assertive remarks come after multiple rounds of discussions this week among Ukrainian, American and European representatives regarding a US-drafted peace proposal.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy indicated following his meeting with US envoys in Berlin that the document could be completed within days, following which it will be submitted to the Kremlin.

Putin seeks recognition of Russian territorial control over all areas in four crucial regions seized by his forces, along with Crimea, which was illegally annexed in 2014.

He has also called for Ukraine to retreat from certain areas in eastern Ukraine that Moscow’s forces have yet to capture.

The Kremlin further demands that Ukraine relinquish its ambition to join NATO and cautions it will not accept the presence of any troops from NATO member states and will consider them as a “legitimate target.”

Zelenskyy has indicated willingness to abandon Ukraine’s NATO membership pursuit if the US and other Western countries provide Kyiv with security assurances comparable to those extended to NATO members.

Simultaneously, Zelenskyy has refused Moscow’s requirements that it withdraw its troops from additional territories that Russia has been unable to seize by force.