Vladimir Putin said Thursday that Russia is prepared to continue its assault on Ukraine "until the last Ukrainian dies," demanding that Kyiv surrender territory if it wants an end to the conflict. Speaking during a visit to Kyrgyzstan, the Russian president insisted his military is advancing on all fronts and declared it "practically impossible to hold back" the Russian army. He dismissed Ukraine's government as illegitimate and said signing any agreement with them would be "senseless," even as he suggested the latest US-brokered peace proposal could serve as a basis for future talks, the Telegraph reports.
Putin reiterated Russia's maximalist demands, including the surrender of the entire Donbas region, which is made up of Luhansk and Donetsk. "Some people demand to keep on fighting until the last Ukrainian dies, Russia is ready for that," Putin said. "If Ukrainian forces leave the territories they hold, then we will stop combat operations. If they don't, then we will achieve it by military means." He claimed Russian forces have encircled key Ukrainian cities and are making significant advances, though Ukraine disputes these battlefield assertions. Observers say that pressure from President Trump for Ukraine to accept a Russia-friendly peace deal has only emboldened Putin, who believes Ukraine's defenses are on the verge of collapse.
"Why compromise if you think you can win outright?" said policy analyst Dmitri Alperovitch, summarizing Putin's apparent calculation. The Institute for the Study of War, however, says data on the Russian advance suggests "a Russian military victory in Ukraine is not inevitable, and a rapid Russian seizure of the rest of Donetsk Oblast is not imminent," CNN reports. The US-based conflict monitor estimates that it would take Russia two years to seize the rest of Donetsk. Russia currently occupies about one-fifth of Ukraine, and the status of these territories remains the main obstacle in peace negotiations. Ukraine has rejected suggestions that it give up territory not already occupied by Russia.
Putin, who dismissed fears that he could attack other European nations in the coming years as "laughable," said a US delegation headed by Special Envoy Steve Witkoff is expected in Moscow next week and Russia is ready for "serious negotiation." Asked about the possibility of Donbas and the Crimea remaining under Russian control without being legally recognized as part of Russia, Putin said, "This is the point of our discussion with our American counterparts." After Putin's remarks, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said Russia "scorned" efforts "to truly end the war," the BBC reports.
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