Putin Warns Russia, President Vladimir Putin has issued a fresh warning to Kyiv, declaring that Ukrainian troops must fully withdraw from the eastern Donbas region or Russia will capture the remaining areas by force. Speaking to India Today, Putin insisted there could be no room for compromise on territory that Moscow considers essential to its war aims. He stated that Russia already holds the majority of Donbas and would move to secure the rest if Ukraine does not pull out its forces.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has repeatedly refused to give up any land and dismissed the idea of territorial concessions. The latest comments from Putin come shortly after United States President Donald Trump said his negotiators believed the Russian leader might be ready to end the conflict following high level talks in Moscow. The United States envoy Steve Witkoff is now preparing to meet Ukrainian officials in Florida to continue discussions.
Russia Ready to Take Donbas by Force as Putin Issues Ultimatum
Trump described the Kremlin meeting as reasonably good but said it was too early to predict any real outcome. The original version of the United States peace proposal suggested placing parts of Donbas that remain under Kyiv control into the direct influence of Moscow. Witkoff presented a revised plan during his visit to Russia, although Putin said he had not reviewed the new version until his talks with Witkoff and Jared Kushner began.
According to Putin Warns Russia reports, the Russian leader claimed the meeting took longer because every detail had to be examined carefully. He admitted that while Russia was willing to discuss some parts of the United States plan, other points were unacceptable. He did not specify which issues were most problematic, but the most serious disagreements are widely understood to involve the future of occupied Ukrainian regions and long term security guarantees for Ukraine.
Yuri Ushakov, one of Putin’s top advisers and a key negotiator, said that the talks produced no breakthrough. He added that Moscow feels its position has grown stronger due to recent advances on the battlefield. Ukrainian officials argue that Russia is deliberately delaying any meaningful agreement while continuing efforts to seize more territory. Ukraine’s foreign minister Andrii Sybhia accused Putin of wasting the time of the international community.
Zelensky has stated that the world now sees a genuine opportunity to move toward peace, but only if pressure on Moscow increases. He stressed that any negotiation must ensure clear and reliable security protections for Ukraine. Kyiv believes it achieved some improvements to the United States proposal during separate talks in Geneva last month, although no details have been released.
European leaders have privately expressed unease about the direction of the United States talks. A report from Germany’s Der Spiegel claimed that France, Germany and Finland warned against any deal that would sacrifice Ukrainian territory without firm guarantees. Although the French government denied using the strong language quoted in the report, it did not share specifics of its private discussions. Russia launched its full scale invasion in early 2022 and now controls around one fifth of Ukraine. In recent weeks, Russian forces have made slow but steady progress in the south eastern region despite suffering considerable losses.
source:BBC
