Putin says Russia will ‘certainly’ achieve its goals in Ukraine

AFP/APP

Moscow: Russian President Vladimir Putin on Wednesday said Moscow would “certainly” achieve its objectives in the offensive in Ukraine, including seizing the territories it claims as its own, amid ongoing international diplomatic efforts to end the nearly four-year conflict.

“The goals of the special military operation will certainly be achieved,” Putin told a meeting with defence ministry officials in Moscow, using the Kremlin’s terminology for the offensive.

“We would prefer to do this and eliminate the root causes of the conflict through diplomacy,” he added, but vowed to seize the Ukrainian lands Russia claims as annexed “by military means” if Kyiv and its foreign partners refuse to engage in substantive discussions.

His comments come as Ukraine hailed “progress” on future security guarantees following two days of talks in Berlin with US envoys from the Trump administration. However, according to Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelensky, differences remain over which territories Kyiv would have to cede to Russia.

Washington’s initial proposal—drafted without input from Ukraine’s European allies—would have seen Kyiv withdraw from its eastern Donetsk region, with the United States effectively recognizing Donetsk, Crimea, and Lugansk as Russian. The contents of a revised plan are not yet publicly known.

Earlier on Wednesday, the Kremlin said Russia was waiting for information from the US on the outcome of the Berlin talks. “We expect that, as soon as they are ready, our American counterparts will inform us of the results of their work with the Ukrainians and the Europeans,” said Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov.

In September 2022, Russia claimed to have officially annexed the Zaporizhzhia, Donetsk, Lugansk, and Kherson regions, even though it did not have full military control over all of them.