Vladimir Putin said that Russia has no intention of abandoning its mission to “liberate its historical lands” and predicted that European “pigs” backing Kyiv would ultimately lose power. His remarks offered no indication of any readiness to compromise on the objectives of the invasion of Ukraine.
Speaking to senior officials of the Ministry of Defense on Wednesday, December 17, the Russian president claimed that Russian forces hold a strategic advantage along the entire front line and are capable of intensifying offensive operations nearly four years after the start of the full-scale invasion.
The statements once again underscored Putin’s refusal to end the war on terms other than the maximalist goals he articulated in 2022—goals that effectively amounted to stripping Ukraine of independent statehood.
Putin said Russia remained open to peace-brokering initiatives by US President Donald Trump, adding that Europe would ultimately be forced to negotiate with Moscow “as we inevitably grow stronger”.
He accused the United States of unleashing the war under Donald Trump’s predecessor, Joe Biden, and said Russia had successfully repelled Western attempts to inflict a strategic defeat.
“Everyone thought Russia would be destroyed quickly. European pigs immediately joined in […] hoping to strike it rich,” he said. According to Putin, Moscow is ready to resume diplomatic dialogue with the continent “if not with the current politicians, then after a change of political elites in Europe”.
Russian multiple-launch rocket systems fire on Ukrainian positions near Kostiantynivka in the Donetsk region.
The Russian president’s confidence in his army’s battlefield prospects left little impression that he was prepared to make concessions in the name of peace.
“The objectives of the special military operation will be achieved unconditionally,” Putin said, using a euphemism for the war. “If the enemy and its foreign patrons are unwilling to engage in a substantive dialogue, Russia will liberate its historical lands on the battlefield.”
Donald Trump, for his part, said that Kyiv and Moscow are now “closer than ever” to reaching an agreement following a meeting between Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky and US envoys and European leaders, where a draft framework was discussed in Berlin earlier this week.
Zelensky, however, acknowledged that differences persist between the United States and Ukraine over territorial concessions that Putin is demanding from Kyiv as a condition for ending the invasion.
US officials said Trump believes it is possible to persuade Putin to agree to a ceasefire, though details of the security guarantees envisioned for Ukraine under this plan have not been disclosed.
The Kremlin has previously said it would accept no Ukrainian or European amendments to Trump’s plan and demanded that Ukraine withdraw its forces from the front line in the Donbas—where Kyiv currently controls about a third of the territory—before any ceasefire takes effect.
In recent days, US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent warned EU officials that Washington could impose additional sanctions on Russia—including measures targeting oil exports and the financial sector—if Moscow refuses to engage in the peace process, according to two sources familiar with the discussions. Bloomberg first reported the remarks.
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Yet a Ceasefire Along the Line of Contact and Security Parameters May Be Negotiated in the Coming Months With the United States Playing a Leading Role
Putin’s reference to “historical lands” pointed to his intention to secure control over all four south-eastern Ukrainian regions along the front line that Russia sought to annex in 2022.
The Russian president also said his forces would continue advancing on other sections of the front to establish a “buffer zone” that, he argued, should deter Ukrainian strikes on Russian territory.
Defense Minister Andrei Belousov told Putin that “the key task for the coming year is to sustain and accelerate the current pace of advance.” He added that Ukraine is “unsuccessfully” trying to retake Kupiansk—a frontline city in the Kharkiv region—despite the fact that Zelensky visited it last week and recorded a video against the backdrop of a battered sign at the city’s entrance.