Putin Warns Russia Will Expand Its Territory If Ukraine Refuses the Demands of the Peace Proposal

Russian President Vladimir Putin/PHOTO via Instagram @russian_kremlin

JAKARTA - Russian President Vladimir Putin warned Moscow would seek to expand its territory in Ukraine if Kyiv and its Western allies rejected the Kremlin's demands in peace talks.

US President Donald Trump has previously intensified extensive diplomatic efforts to end nearly four years of fighting after Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, but Washington's efforts face very different demands from Moscow and Kyiv.

Speaking at an annual meeting with top military officers, Putin said Moscow preferred to achieve its goals and "eliminate the root causes of the conflict" through diplomatic means.

But Putin said "if the opposing side and its foreign supporters refuse to engage in substantive dialogue, Russia will achieve the liberation of its historic lands by military means."

Ukraine and its Western allies consider Russia's actions to be a violation of sovereignty and an unprovoked act of aggression.

Putin claimed "Russian troops have seized and held strategic initiatives along the front line" and warned that Moscow would move to expand a "buffer security zone" along Russia's borders.

"Our troops are different now, they are experienced in combat and there is no other such force in the world today," he said, quoted by the Associated Press, Wednesday, December 17.

Putin praised Russia's growing military strength and specifically noted the modernization of its nuclear arsenal, including a new nuclear-capable Oreshnik medium-range ballistic missile that he said would officially enter combat duty this month.

Russia first tested a conventionally armed version of Oreshnik to attack factories in Ukraine in November 2024. Putin also boasted the missile was impossible to intercept.