Russian President Vladimir Putin has said that the war is going to continue until Ukraine surrenders and ceases attacks on Russian forces, while promising to give in writing that Moscow would not attack the European Union. Those fuelling hate and war hysteria in the EU are doing a disservice and “complete nonsense”.
Speaking in the Kyrgyz capital, Bishkek, on Thursday, where he was attending the summit of the Collective Security Treaty Organisation (CSTO), a Russia-driven security apparatus that includes some of the former Soviet Union republics, Putin said the claims that Moscow will launch an attack on Europe are completely “ridiculous”.
He said, “The truth is completely contradictory; we never wanted to attack, but if they want to get it confirmed from us, then we will document it without question.” The war will only end if Ukraine stops attacking the Russian forces; otherwise, fighting will continue across all domains, he said.
The Russia-Ukraine war has been going on since February 2022, when Putin announced a surprise attack over what he believed was a measure to de-Nazify Ukraine.
Also Read: 200,000 Ukrainian refugees in US risk losing right to stay
Since then, both sides have lost tens of thousands of soldiers and civilians and reported economic losses worth billions. While Ukraine is currently funded by Western allies, Russian authorities recently announced that they were planning to sell part of their gold reserves to fund the ongoing war after the latest sanctions.
Putin said Moscow was ready to engage in serious discussion on the war yet also warned that it was not going to cede gains made since 2014, especially in Donbas and Crimea. He went on to warn that Moscow was ready to fight and take control of more Ukrainian territory if necessary.
The Russian Ministry of Defence said its forces have captured additional settlements in Kharkiv, Kupiansk, and Pokrovsk, a major transit route that would strengthen Russian control on seized territory. The high-level US delegation is set to arrive in Moscow next week to break the prevailing deadlock between Ukraine and Russia.
Also Read: US peace delegation to arrive in Russia next week
Follow us
