Vladimir Putin has issued Ukraine an uncompromising ultimatum, as territorial and security issues continue to dominate peace negotiations. US and Ukrainian officials have been locked in intense talks for months, as Washington attempts to broker a deal between the two countries.
Russia is demanding that Ukraine withdraws its troops from the Donbas, where the Kremlin’s army continues to make incremental advances at the cost of significant numbers of casualties. After almost four years of bitter and gruelling fighting, Ukraine still controls around 25% of Donetsk – one of the two provinces that make up the Donbas. Volodymyr Zelensky is insisting that Kyiv will not pull its troops out of the region, much to the fury of Putin.
The Ukrainian President said on Monday that his country will not recognise the Donbas as Russian either « de jure or de facto ».
Zelensky’s refusal to cave in to Russian demands produced an angry response from the Kremlin tyrant on Tuesday.
At an annual meeting with the Defence Ministry, Putin said: « The goals of the special military operation will be achieved unconditionally. »
He went on to ominously warn that if Ukraine did not want a « substantive discussion » on the matter, then « Russia will liberate its historical lands on the battlefield. »
The Kremlin appears unlikely to make any compromises on any of its hardline territorial demands. Russia has illegally annexed five regions of Ukraine – Donetsk, Luhansk, Zaporizhzhia and Kherson regions, as well as Crimea.
The Kremlin’s Deputy Foreign Minister Sergey Ryabkov told the news channel ABC on Monday that Russia has “five [regions] altogether” in Ukraine.
His remarks suggest Russia has no intention of freezing the conflict on the current frontline and intends to take full control of all the regions it claims.
Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov similarly reiterated on Tuesday that Russia wants to “end this war” but seeks to achieve its goals.
Analysts at the US think tank the Institute for the Study of War believe these goals include decapitating and replacing the Ukrainian government, destroying the Ukrainian military, and undermining Western unity.
Peskov also rejected the Ukrainian-proposed and US-supported idea of a Christmas truce.
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