Russia will take over Ukraine if European ‘pigs’ refuse demands: Putin – National

Russian President Vladimir Putin warned on Wednesday that Moscow will seek to increase its leverage in Ukraine if Kyiv and its Western allies reject the Kremlin’s demands for peace talks.

US President Donald Trump has launched a major campaign to end the war nearly four years after Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, but Washington’s efforts have faced sharply conflicting demands from Moscow and Kyiv.

Speaking at an annual meeting with senior military officials, Putin said Moscow would like to achieve its goals and “eliminate the causes of the conflict” through diplomatic means, but added that “if the opposition and its foreign sponsors refuse to participate in serious negotiations, Russia will achieve the liberation of its historical sites by military means.”

Putin was referring to the Ukrainian territory seized by Russia – an act widely criticized in the West as a violation of Ukraine’s sovereignty and an illegal act of aggression.

Putin said “the Russian army is holding and holding a strategic front” and warned that Moscow would develop a “secure security zone” along Russia’s border.

“Our army is unique now, it is tough and there is no other army like it in the world now,” he said.

Putin praised Russia’s growing military strength and noted in particular the modernization of its nuclear arsenal, including a new nuclear-capable intermediate-range Oreshnik ballistic missile that he said would officially enter combat service this month. Russia first tested an armored version of the Oreshnik to hit a Ukrainian factory in November 2024, and Putin boasted that it was impossible to stop.

At the same time, he dismissed statements by European officials about Moscow’s alleged plans to attack European countries as “lies and nonsense …

Putin’s strong statements follow several rounds of talks this week between Ukrainian, American and European officials on a US-backed peace plan. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said after meeting with the American delegation in Berlin that the document could be finalized in a few days, after which the American delegation will present it to the Kremlin.

Trump said this week “I think we’re closer now than we’ve ever been” to reaching a deal and praised the “tremendous support of European leaders” who want to “finish it.”

“I actually think President Putin wants to see it over,” he told reporters on Monday.

Putin wants all areas in four key regions captured by his forces, as well as Crimea, which was illegally annexed in 2014, to be recognized as Russian territory. He also demanded that Ukraine withdraw from some areas in eastern Ukraine that Moscow’s forces have not captured.

The Kremlin also insists that Ukraine abandon its bid to join NATO and warns that it will not accept the deployment of any troops from NATO members and will consider them “legitimate objectives.”

Zelenskyy expressed that he is ready to withdraw Ukraine’s bid to join NATO if the US and other Western nations provide Kyiv with security guarantees similar to those offered by NATO members. But Ukraine’s preference remains NATO membership as the best security guarantee against further Russian aggression.

At the same time, Zelenskyy has dismissed Moscow’s demands to withdraw its troops from other areas that Russia cannot take by force.

The Ukrainian leader described the draft peace plan discussed with the US during talks in Berlin on Monday as “incomplete” but “very effective,” noting that Kyiv and its allies were very close to agreeing on “strong security guarantees.” But he also stressed that the key issue of territorial control remains unresolved and rejected US pressure for Ukraine to relinquish control over the eastern Donetsk region.

Putin on Wednesday also praised Trump’s efforts to resolve the crisis and supported Trump’s repeated claims that the war in Ukraine would not have erupted on his watch. He alleged that former US administrations and some of their European allies, whom he scornfully called “pigs”, were wrongly anticipating the fall of Russia.

The Russian leader said that the dialogue with Europe “is impossible to happen with the current political leaders, but still, it will be inevitable as we grow stronger without the current politicians, and then there will be a change of political leaders in Europe.”

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Briefing Putin at Wednesday’s military meeting, Defense Minister Andrei Belousov outlined plans to move forward, saying Russia’s recent advances in Donetsk had set the stage for an immediate push into Ukrainian-controlled territory.
Belousov also announced that the Russian military was preparing to drive Ukrainian forces to parts of the Zaporizhzhia region that Moscow also took in 2022 but was not fully captured, as well as increasing gains in neighboring Dnipropetrovsk.

“The key task for next year is to maintain and accelerate the rate of attack,” he said.

Belousov outlined plans to expand Russia’s military capabilities, focusing on drones, anti-aircraft missiles and air defense equipment.

As Russia continues its advance on many fronts, it has also hit Ukraine with daily missile and drone strikes.

At least 26 people were injured by Russian bombs in and around Zaporizhzhia, according to regional administration head Ivan Fedorov. The attack destroyed many residential buildings, as well as infrastructure and an educational institution.

At least 69 long-range drones were launched by Russia overnight, the Ukrainian military said. The air defense intercepted or stopped 29 drones in the morning, the attacks continued during the day.

Russia’s Ministry of Defense said that air forces shot down 94 Ukrainian planes overnight.

In Russia’s southern Krasnodar region, drones injured two people and damaged several houses, according to regional emergency officials. In the southwestern region of Voronezh, Governor Alexander Gusev said fragments of a drone damaged a power line supplying infrastructure, causing a fire that was quickly extinguished.

With additional files from Global News

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