Moscow: Russian President Vladimir Putin on Saturday said Moscow would pursue its objectives in Ukraine through military means if Kyiv refuses to seek a peaceful resolution to the conflict. His remarks came during a visit to a command post of the Russian Armed Forces, according to Russian state news agency TASS.
Addressing senior military leadership, including Chief of the General Staff Valery Gerasimov and field commanders, Putin said Russia remains open to peace but will respond with force if negotiations are ruled out. Russian state broadcaster RT quoted him as saying that if Ukraine does not opt for peace, Russia will achieve all the goals of its Special Military Operation through military action.
Putin said the creation of a buffer zone along the Russian-Ukrainian border was progressing effectively and claimed that Russian forces were advancing along the entire line of engagement in the Donbass and the Zaporozhye regions. He was briefed on what Russian authorities described as the liberation of Gulyaipole in the Zaporozhye region and Dimitrov in the Donetsk People’s Republic, TASS reported.
According to the report, both Putin and Gerasimov indicated that the Ukrainian leadership was showing little urgency in resolving the conflict through diplomatic means.
The Russian president’s remarks came amid renewed assertions from Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, who reiterated that territories occupied by Russia and the Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant remain “red lines” for Kyiv. In a series of posts on X while travelling to the United States, Zelenskyy said any decision involving territory, national sovereignty or the nuclear facility would require consultation with the Ukrainian public, either through a referendum or legislative process.
Zelenskyy also stressed that strong security guarantees would be Ukraine’s top priority in any peace settlement. His comments were made ahead of a scheduled meeting with US President Donald Trump in Florida, as diplomatic efforts continue alongside ongoing military operations.
