Putin claims Ukraine is ‘on the retreat’

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Vladimir Putin has said Russia wants its most hardline demands to form the basis for any peace talks with Ukraine and expressed confidence his forces will keep advancing on the battlefield nearly four years into his invasion.

Putin’s comments, made in a marathon press conference on Friday, indicated the Russian president is not interested in ending the war on any terms other than his own, and believes he can win on the battlefield.

“The strategic initiative is completely in the hands of Russia’s armed forces. That means our forces are advancing across the entire frontline, in some places at a faster pace, in others slower, but in every direction. The enemy is on the retreat,” Putin said.

The Kremlin typically frames the annual event — featuring questions from Russian and international media as well as ordinary citizens — as a way to show Putin’s sensitivity to ordinary people’s problems.

This year’s event appeared largely aimed at preparing the Russian population for the war to continue well into next year.

Putin repeatedly assured Russians that they would come out on top and, in an apparent effort to justify the fighting, spoke to a decorated army commander who made unsubstantiated claims of Ukrainian war crimes.

He also dismissed fears that Russia’s slowing economy would struggle to support the war effort, claiming the central bank had largely brought inflation under control and vowing the Kremlin would not cut welfare payments.

Putin’s depiction of a rosy picture for Russia appeared to indicate that Moscow feels it can press on with the war until Ukraine accepts its demands, even as the US has said President Donald Trump can convince him to accept a peace deal.

For the first time, Putin said Russia was willing to suspend long-range strikes temporarily to allow Ukraine to hold an election. But he added that Moscow would only do so if the 5mn to 10mn Ukrainians currently living in Russia were allowed to vote, presumably delivering a more favourable result for the Kremlin.

The US has also floated pushing Ukraine to hold an election after President Volodymyr Zelenskyy’s term in office expired last year. Ukraine has said it can only do so if Russia agrees to a halt to the fighting.

Putin said Ukraine could hold an election without a ceasefire, adding: “If they just want to use elections solely to stop Russian forces’ offensive breakthrough, then that’s the wrong choice.”

The US plans further talks in separate meetings with Ukrainian and Russian officials in Miami this weekend on Trump’s plan to end the war.

Putin said Russia was not “rejecting” Trump’s plan and claimed he had agreed to unspecified “compromises” when they met in Alaska in August, but insisted any peace deal must focus on “solving the initial reasons for the conflict”.

Ukraine has said Russia’s demands, which include significant territorial concessions and limits on its ability to defend itself, would all but amount to capitulation.

The US is pushing Zelenskyy to cede some of the regions demanded by Putin, particularly the Donbas industrial heartland, in exchange for far-reaching security guarantees.

An earlier version of Trump’s plan, however, did not fully address Russia’s core demands, including a pledge to halt Nato’s expansion. Putin said Russia would only end the war “on the condition that our security is secured in the medium and long term”.

“There will not be any more [wars] if you treat us with respect and take our interests into account,” Putin said.