Putin warns that Russia will seek to extend its gains in Ukraine if
peace talks fail
[December 18, 2025]
Russian President Vladimir Putin warned Wednesday that Moscow will seek
to extend its gains in Ukraine if Kyiv and its Western allies reject the
Kremlin's demands in peace talks.
U.S. President Donald Trump has unleashed an extensive diplomatic push
to end nearly four years of fighting following Russia’s full-scale
invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, but Washington’s efforts have run
into sharply conflicting demands by Moscow and Kyiv.
Speaking at an annual meeting with top military officers, Putin said
Moscow would prefer to achieve its goals and “eliminate the root causes
of the conflict” by diplomatic means, but he added that “if the opposing
side and its foreign patrons refuse to engage in substantive dialogue,
Russia will achieve the liberation of its historical lands by military
means.”
Putin was referring to Ukrainian territory seized by Russia — action
widely condemned in the West as a violation of Ukraine's sovereignty and
an unprovoked act of aggression.
Putin claimed that “the Russian army has seized and is firmly holding
strategic initiative all along the front line” and warned that Moscow
will move to expand a “buffer security zone” alongside the Russian
border.
“Our troops are different now, they are battle-hardened and there is no
other such army in the world now,” he said.
Putin praised Russia's growing military might and particularly noted the
modernization of its atomic arsenal, including the new nuclear-capable
intermediate range Oreshnik ballistic missile that he said will
officially enter combat duty this month. Russia first tested a
conventionally armed version of the Oreshnik to strike a Ukrainian
factory in November 2024, and Putin has boasted that it's impossible to
intercept.
At the same time, he rejected European officials' statements about
Moscow's purported plans to attack European nations as “lies and sheer
nonsense ... driven by short-sighted personal or group political
interests, not by the interests of their people.”
Sharply different demands by Moscow and Kyiv
Putin's tough statements follow several rounds of talks this week
between Ukrainian. American and European officials on a U.S.-drafted
peace plan. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said after meeting
with U.S. envoys in Berlin that the document could be finalized within
days, after which U.S. envoys will present it to the Kremlin.
Putin wants all the 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 has demanded that Ukraine withdraw from some
areas in eastern Ukraine that Moscow's forces have not captured yet.
The Kremlin also insists that Ukraine abandon its bid to join NATO and
warns it won’t accept the deployment of any troops from NATO members and
will view them as “legitimate target."
Zelenskyy has expressed readiness to drop Ukraine’s bid to join NATO if
the U.S. and other Western nations give Kyiv security guarantees similar
to those offered to NATO members. But Ukraine’s preference remains NATO
membership as the best security guarantee to prevent further Russian
aggression.
At the same time, Zelenskyy has rejected Moscow’s demands that it pull
back its troops from other areas that Russia has not been able to take
by force.
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In this image, made from video provided by Russian Defense Ministry
Press Service on Tuesday, Dec. 16, 2025, a Russian "Grad"
self-propelled multiple rocket launcher fires towards Ukrainian
positions on an undisclosed location in Ukraine. (Russian Defense
Ministry Press Service via AP)
The Ukrainian leader described the draft peace plan discussed with
the U.S. during talks in Berlin on Monday as “not perfect” but “very
workable,” noting that Kyiv and its allies were very close to a deal
on "strong security guarantees.” But he also emphasized that the key
issue of control over territory remain unresolved and rejected the
U.S. push for Ukraine to cede control over the eastern Donetsk
region.
Putin on Wednesday again praised Trump's settlement efforts and
seconded Trumps' repeated claims that the war in Ukraine wouldn't
have erupted under his watch. He charged that the previous U.S.
administration and some of the European allies he contemptuously
called “piglings” had vainly expected Russia's collapse.
The Russian leader said a dialogue with Europe "is unlikely to
become possible with the current political elites, but in any case,
it will be inevitable as we grow stronger if not with the current
politicians, then with a change in political elites in Europe.”
Russian military maps out for more gains
Reporting to Putin at Wednesday's military meeting, Defense Minister
Andrei Belousov spelled out plans for further advances, saying the
latest Russian advances in Donetsk have set the stage for a quick
push into the Ukrainian-controlled part of the region.
Belousov also declared that Russian troops were preparing to drive
Ukrainian forces from parts of the Zaporizhzhia region that Moscow
also annexed in 2022 but never fully captured, as well as extend
gains in neighboring Dnipropetrovsk.
“The key task for the next year is to preserve and accelerate the
tempo of the offensive,” he said.
Belousov spelled out plans for expanding Russian military
capabilities, focusing on drones, jamming equipment and air defense
assets.
Aerial attacks continue
As Russia continues its grinding advances in many sectors of the
front, it also pummeled Ukraine with daily missile and drone
strikes.
At least 26 people were injured by Russian glide bombs in
Zaporizhzhia and its vicinity, according to regional administration
head Ivan Fedorov. The attack damaged several residential buildings,
as well as infrastructure and an educational facility.
At least 69 long-range drones were launched by Russia overnight, the
Ukrainian air force said. Air defenses intercepted or jammed 29
drones in the morning, with the assault continuing during the day.
Russia’s Defense Ministry said that air defenses downed 94 Ukrainian
drones overnight.
In Russia's southern Krasnodar region, drones injured two people and
damaged several private houses, according to regional emergency
officials. In the southwestern Voronezh region, Gov. Alexander Gusev
said drone fragments damaged a power line serving an infrastructure
facility, causing a blaze that was quickly extinguished.
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