Putin Warns Russia Will Expand Gains in Ukraine if Peace Demands Are Rejected

Russian President Vladimir Putin warned on Wednesday that Moscow would seek to expand its territorial gains in Ukraine if Kyiv and its Western allies refuse to accept the Kremlin’s demands in ongoing peace negotiations.

The warning came as U.S. President Donald Trump steps up diplomatic efforts to end nearly four years of fighting following Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022 — an initiative that has run into sharply conflicting positions from Moscow and Kyiv.

Speaking at an annual meeting with senior military officials, Putin said Russia preferred to achieve its objectives through diplomacy and to “eliminate the root causes of the conflict.” However, he cautioned 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 territories seized by Russian forces, actions widely condemned by Western nations as violations of Ukraine’s sovereignty.

He claimed Russian forces had “seized and firmly hold the strategic initiative along the entire front line” and said Moscow would expand a “buffer security zone” along Russia’s border.

“Our troops are different now — battle-hardened — and there is no other such army in the world today,” Putin said.

The Russian leader also highlighted the modernization of Russia’s military, particularly its nuclear forces. He pointed to the new nuclear-capable intermediate-range Oreshnik ballistic missile, which he said would officially enter combat duty this month. Russia first tested a conventionally armed version of the missile in a strike on a Ukrainian factory in November 2024, and Putin has claimed it is impossible to intercept.

At the same time, Putin dismissed Western warnings that Russia could attack European countries as “lies and sheer nonsense,” driven by what he described as short-sighted political interests rather than public welfare.

Deep divisions over peace terms

Putin’s remarks followed several rounds of talks this week involving Ukrainian, U.S. and European officials on a U.S.-drafted peace proposal. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said after meeting U.S. envoys in Berlin that the document could be finalized within days before being presented to Moscow.

The Kremlin is demanding international recognition of Russia’s control over four partially occupied Ukrainian regions as well as Crimea, which Russia illegally annexed in 2014. Moscow has also insisted that Ukraine withdraw from areas of eastern Ukraine that Russian forces have not fully captured.

Russia further demands that Ukraine abandon its bid to join NATO and has warned that it would treat any deployment of NATO-member troops to Ukraine as legitimate military targets.

Zelenskyy has signaled willingness to suspend Ukraine’s NATO ambitions if Kyiv receives strong security guarantees comparable to those provided by the alliance, though he has said NATO membership remains Ukraine’s preferred long-term safeguard. He has firmly rejected Russia’s demand that Ukrainian forces withdraw from territories still under Kyiv’s control.

Zelenskyy described the draft peace plan discussed in Berlin as “not perfect” but “very workable,” saying negotiations were close to securing strong security guarantees. However, he emphasized that the issue of territorial control remains unresolved and rejected U.S. proposals that Ukraine cede control of eastern Donetsk.

Putin again praised Trump’s efforts to broker a settlement and echoed Trump’s assertion that the war would not have begun during his presidency. He accused the previous U.S. administration and some European allies — whom he derisively referred to as “piglings” — of expecting Russia’s collapse.

Dialogue with Europe, Putin said, was unlikely under current political leadership but would become inevitable as Russia grows stronger.

Russian military plans further advances

Defense Minister Andrei Belousov told the meeting that recent Russian advances in Donetsk had paved the way for further offensives into Ukrainian-held areas of the region. He also said Russian forces were preparing to push Ukrainian troops from parts of the Zaporizhzhia region — which Moscow annexed in 2022 but never fully occupied — and extend operations into neighboring Dnipropetrovsk.

“The key task for the next year is to preserve and accelerate the tempo of the offensive,” Belousov said, adding that Russia would expand capabilities in drones, electronic warfare and air defense.

Air attacks continue

As ground fighting continued, Russia and Ukraine exchanged aerial attacks.

Russian glide bombs injured at least 26 people in and around the southeastern Ukrainian city of Zaporizhzhia, damaging residential buildings, infrastructure and an educational facility, according to regional governor Ivan Fedorov.

Ukraine’s air force said Russia launched at least 69 long-range drones overnight, intercepting or jamming 29, with attacks continuing through the day.

Russia’s Defense Ministry said its air defenses shot down 94 Ukrainian drones overnight. In Russia’s southern Krasnodar region, drones injured two people and damaged several homes, while in the Voronezh region drone debris damaged a power line serving an infrastructure facility, officials said.