Russian President Vladimir Putin on Saturday visited a command post of the Russian Armed Forces, where he seemed to suggest that Ukrainian leader Volodymyr Zelenskyy is in “no hurry” to resolve the conflict with Moscow peacefully.
Putin’s remarks came ahead of Zelenskyy’s meeting with US President Donald Trump in Florida on Sunday, where the two are expected to focus on conditions set forth by Russia for war to end.
“If Kiev does not want peace, Russia will achieve all Special Military Operation goals by military means,” Putin said, as per a Russian news daily.
The Russian leader spoke on the conflict with Ukraine after his meeting with Chief of the General Staff, Valery Gerasimov, and the commanders of the battle groups.
He also heard on the liberation of Gulyaipole in the Zaporozhye Region and Dimitrov in the Donetsk People’s Republic (DPR), as quoted by a Russian news portal.
While acknowledging that the establishment of a buffer zone on the Russian-Ukrainian border is proceeding well, Putin warned that the Russian Armed Forces are advancing in Donbass and the Zaporozhye Region along the entire line of engagement.
Putin’s comments come at a time when the Ukrainian leadership has demanded more funds from the West, particularly the EU, to sustain the war campaign against Russia.
Also Read: Trump questions Zelenskyy’s intent to end conflict with Russia
Zelenskyy reiterated in a series of posts on X that the territories which Russia occupied during the four-year-long running war and the Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant (ZNPP) are “red lines” for Ukraine, adding that any sensitive decisions would require consultation with the Ukrainian people through a referendum or legislative changes.
Meanwhile, Putin is said to addressed Ukraine’s depleting resources on Saturday, saying the country is “short on resources, men, money and machinery while trying to frame Russia as some global threat”.
Putin said “smart people in the West” offered Ukraine decent peace conditions, but Kyiv continues to ignore them, forcing Moscow to continue with its military offensive.
While Putin did not mention who and when those good terms were offered to Ukraine, he said the conditions involved good framework security guarantees, along with reconstruction and restructuring of its economy and a roadmap aimed at restoring ties with Russia.
He added that Russia’s rapid advances make Kyiv’s willingness to agree to any territorial concessions almost irrelevant.
With regards US’ 10-point peace plan, Russia’s Deputy Foreign Minister, Sergey Ryabkov, said last Friday that it was “radically different” than the proposals discussed earlier by Russia and the US.
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