Ready To Go Through The Prolonged War In Ukraine, Russian President Vladimir Putin: We'll See

Russian President Vladimir Putin. (Source: Kremlin)

JAKARTA - Russian President Vladimir Putin on Tuesday expressed his readiness to face a prolonged war in Ukraine, saying Kyiv could use any ceasefire to re-armed his military force.

Speaking for several hours at an economic forum in the port city of Vladivostok, President Putin said Ukraine's retaliatory attacks on Russian troops had so far failed.

He said Ukrainian soldiers suffered a loss of 71,000 people in the attack. According to him, only when Ukraine had run out of power, equipment and ammunition that they could talk about peace, he said when answering questions from Russian television presenters who acted as moderators.

However, he said Kyiv would use the termination of any hostilities "to replenish their resources and restore their armed forces combat capabilities."

President Putin said many mediatorial candidates had asked him if Russia was ready to stop the fighting, but said Russia could barely do so against Ukraine's retaliatory attacks.

In order for there to be an opportunity for negotiations, said President Putin, Ukraine must first lift the self-imposed legal ban on peace negotiations, explaining what it wants.

"Then we'll see," said President Putin.

Russia controls about 18 percent of Ukraine, including the annexed Crimea in 2014, as well as the eastern and southern regions of Ukraine it captured after invading Ukraine on February 24 last year, in what it called a special military operation.

The war has ravaged cities and villages, killing or injuring hundreds of thousands of fighters and civilians.

Over the course of several months, Ukraine has struggled to regain some of the lost territory and has reclaimed several villages. However, they have yet to make significant breakthroughs to Russia's heavily fortified defensive line and filled with landmines.

Ukraine says it will not stop until every Russian soldier is expelled from its territory. Meanwhile, Western countries say they want to help Ukraine defeat Russia, a goal that Kremlin officials say is just an unrealistic dream.