Russian President Vladimir Putin has vowed that Moscow will not back down in its war with Ukraine, declaring that Russia will continue fighting if no peace deal is reached.
His warning came on Wednesday as Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky arrived in Paris for high-level talks with European allies.
Speaking to reporters in Beijing, after attending a military parade alongside Chinese leader Xi Jinping and North Korea’s Kim Jong Un, Putin said Russia would “resolve all tasks militarily” if negotiations failed.
He boasted that Russian forces were advancing “on all fronts” and had weakened Ukraine’s army to the point that it could no longer launch a counteroffensive.
The statement highlights the Kremlin’s hardened stance as diplomatic efforts intensify.
French President Emmanuel Macron, who will co-host Thursday’s meeting of European leaders, insisted that Europe was prepared to offer Ukraine security guarantees once a peace deal was in place.
However, Macron admitted that the details of such guarantees were “extremely confidential.”
Despite international pressure, Russia has ramped up its assaults across Ukraine.
According to Ukrainian officials, Russian forces fired more than 500 drones and missiles overnight, killing nine civilians in the frontline town of Kostiantynivka.
The strikes underscored the continuing human cost of the war, which has stretched into its fourth year.
Ukraine’s Foreign Minister Andriy Sybiga dismissed Russia’s approach, accusing Moscow of recycling “old ultimatums” and refusing meaningful talks. “Russia has not changed its aggressive goals,” Sybiga said.
He urged Western allies to impose tougher sanctions to weaken what he called the “Russian war machine.”
Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov reinforced Moscow’s position earlier on Wednesday, insisting that any lasting peace must include international recognition of territories annexed by Russia.
Moscow claims Donetsk, Lugansk, Kherson, Zaporizhzhia, and Crimea seized in 2014 are now part of its territory.
“In order for a durable peace, the new territorial realities must be recognised and formalised in accordance with international law,” Lavrov declared.
Ukraine and its allies have rejected this demand, making territorial disputes one of the main obstacles to a settlement.
Arriving in Paris, Zelensky said he saw no evidence that Russia was ready to end the war.
Nevertheless, he will meet European leaders on Thursday to discuss a potential peacekeeping force and long-term guarantees to shield Ukraine from future attacks.
The Ukrainian leader has long called for direct talks with Putin, but the Kremlin has repeatedly sidestepped such proposals.
Putin said on Wednesday that Trump had asked him about a possible meeting with Zelensky, adding: “Yes, it’s possible, let Zelensky come to Moscow.” Kyiv dismissed the invitation as disingenuous and “cynical.”
The conflict, now dragging into its fourth year, has tested Western unity.
Former U.S. President Donald Trump, who met both Putin and Zelensky last month, is expected to speak directly with Zelensky on Thursday.
“I’ll know pretty much what we’re going to be doing,” Trump told reporters at the White House on Wednesday.
Ukraine’s industrial east has endured over a decade of violence, beginning with Russia-backed separatist uprisings in 2014.
With both sides digging in, peace remains elusive, and civilians continue to bear the brunt of a war that shows no sign of ending.
Post Views: 71
