Russian President Vladimir Putin. Photo / Getty Images
Vladimir Putin said European “pigs” supporting Ukraine would lose power as he vowed to continue waging war despite United States peace efforts.
The Russian President said his armed forces would “liberate its historical lands by military means” at a meeting of defence officials today.
He showed no sign of being willing to compromise on his maximalist goals for the invasion of Ukraine, which sought to end the neighbouring country’s status as an independent state.
Despite this, Putin claimed he was prepared to negotiate a diplomatic end to the war with US President Donald Trump, but only if it satisfied his core demands to resolve the “root causes of the conflict”.
US and Russian officials are set to hold talks this weekend in Miami, Florida, according to Politico.
US envoy Steve Witkoff and Trump’s son-in-law Jared Kushner are expected to meet Russia’s sovereign wealth fund chief Kirill Dmitriev.
“Everyone thought they would quickly destroy Russia,” Putin said in his vitriolic speech, accusing Trump’s predecessor, former President Joe Biden, of starting the war.
“And the European swine immediately jumped into this effort … in the hope of profiting from the collapse of our country.”
Putin added that “promises made to us” that the Nato military alliance would not expand eastwards had been ignored.
The Russian President also claimed that he would be prepared to enter negotiations with Europe “if not with the current politicians, then when the political elites in Europe are replaced”.
He has repeatedly made demands for the “root causes” of the full-scale invasion to be addressed, which effectively end Kyiv statehood and see Nato roll back its eastwards expansion.
If these demands aren’t met, Putin warned: “The goals of the special military operation will be achieved unconditionally.
“If the adversary and its foreign patrons don’t want to have a substantive discussion, then Russia will liberate its historic lands on the battlefield,” the Russian added, referring to the four Ukrainian states on the frontline he illegally annexed in 2022.
He made no reference to the new security guarantees to prevent a future Russian invasion offered by Trump to Ukraine earlier this week in the hope of breaking the deadlock in peace negotiations.
American officials are confident the US President will be able to convince his Russian counterpart that the measures are an acceptable part of a potential ceasefire agreement.
The Kremlin has said it would reject any Ukrainian or European changes made to a previously-leaked 28-point proposal agreed between Russian and American officials.
The proposal would have forced Ukraine to surrender its eastern Donbas regions, including land not militarily conquered by Moscow’s forces, as the price of peace.
Volodymyr Zelenskyy, Ukraine’s President, has refused to withdraw his troops before a ceasefire, arguing this would give up well-defended cities to Russia.
Responding to Putin’s comments, Zelenskyy wrote on social media: “Today, we again heard signals from Moscow that they are preparing to make next year a year of war. These signals are not only for us.
“It is crucial that our partners see them, and not only see them but also respond – especially partners in the US, who often say that Russia wants to end the war.”
American officials continue to insist that Kyiv agrees to withdraw from the provinces of Donetsk and Luhansk, but have now offered Nato-like security guarantees they say will stop Putin from mounting another invasion.
Trump said a peace deal was “closer than ever” after Ukrainian and American negotiators agreed to the measures at talks in Berlin earlier this week.
However, an agreement over territorial concessions still eludes both sides – as does Russia’s agreement for the deal.
Scott Bessent, the US Treasury Secretary, this week told EU officials that Washington could impose further sanctions on Russia’s energy industry if Putin does not engage in peace talks, the Bloomberg news agency reported.
Putin said today that his forces would continue to create “buffer zones” inside Ukraine to protect Russian territory from attacks by Kyiv’s troops.
Andrei Belousov, Russia’s Defence Minister, told Putin that his “key task for the coming year is to maintain and increase the current pace of advance”.
He also claimed Ukraine was “unsuccessfully” attempting to retake Kupiansk, a Kharkiv region town which Zelenskyy visited last week to prove his forces had control over it.
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