Putin made the bellicose comments, which run counter to Russia’s self-proclaimed openness towards negotiating an end to the invasion of Ukraine, on Thursday during an address at the International Arctic Forum in Murmansk.
“Along the entire front line, our forces have the strategic initiative,” the Russian president said, according to translations from the AFP. “I was saying not so long ago — ‘We will finish them off.’ There are reasons to believe that we will finish them off.”
“We are gradually, not as fast as some would like, but nevertheless persistently and confidently moving toward achieving all the goals stated at the beginning of the special operation,” he added. “The Ukrainian people themselves should understand what is happening.”
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has expressed frustration with Western nations’ unwillingness to strong-arm the Kremlin, calling Putin’s position “simple” — “keep the war going, keep attacking, and delay diplomacy.”
“Right now, there are U.S. proposals on the table — including one for a full and unconditional ceasefire. We agreed to it,” the Ukrainian president said Thursday via social media. “But of course, Russia rejected it and threw in a bunch of nonsense conditions nobody asked for.”
“The same goes for the idea of a ceasefire in the Black Sea. Russia is trying to push their own conditions onto our partners, but those conditions are unrealistic,” he said.
During his Thursday speech, Putin floated a new proposal to govern Ukraine following the end of the war, suggesting the United Nations be given custody of the country and “organize a democratic presidential election.”
“We could, of course, discuss with the United States, even with European countries, and of course with our partners and friends, under the auspices of the UN, the possibility of establishing a transitional administration in Ukraine,” he said.
The Kremlin reneged on a proposed maritime peace deal earlier this week, claiming they would no longer agree to sign on unless Western nations lifted their economic sanctions on Russia.
“The end of the Russian unprovoked and unjustified aggression in Ukraine and unconditional withdrawal of all Russian military forces from the entire territory of Ukraine would be one of the main preconditions to amend or lift sanctions,” a European Union Commission spokesperson announced after the Kremlin’s conditions were made public.
RUSSIA RENEGES ON BLACK SEA CEASEFIRE, SAYS WESTERN SANCTIONS MUST FIRST BE LIFTED
Trump touched on the negotiations Tuesday night in an interview with Newsmax, during which he did not seem to be particularly concerned about the stalled progress.
“I think that Russia wants to see an end to [the war], but it could be they’re dragging their feet. I’ve done it over the years,” Trump said. “I think Russia would like to see it end, and I think [Ukrainian President Volodymyr] Zelensky would like to see it end at this point.”
The South Korean Joint Chiefs of Staff announced Thursday that their intelligence shows North Korea deployed approximately 4,000 more soldiers from the Korean People’s Army to aid Russia in the invasion.
