Russian President Vladimir Putin said that Moscow will take full control of the Donbass region “by force of arms” if Ukrainian forces do not withdraw voluntarily. The statement, issued on Thursday (12/4), reinforces one of the Kremlin’s main demands as it seeks to advance new diplomatic negotiations on a possible peace agreement.
Putin said: “Either we liberate these territories by force of arms, or the Ukrainian forces will leave these territories.”
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Putin says he has taken control of major Ukrainian cities
Ukraine strongly refuses to withdraw from the territory, claiming that it does not intend to hand over areas that Moscow was unable to fully occupy on the battlefield.
Russia currently controls 19.2% of Ukrainian territory, including Luhansk, more than 80% of Donetsk and parts of regions such as Kherson, Zaporizhia, Kharkiv and Sumy. Nearly 5,000 square kilometers of Donetsk remain under Ukrainian command.
Exclusive negotiations between Moscow and Washington
The Kremlin confirmed, on Wednesday (12/3), that talks on the peace agreement are taking place exclusively between Russia and the United States, without European participation. According to presidential advisor Yuri Ushakov, “communications are taking place only between Washington and Moscow,” although Putin continues to say that European leaders are “welcome” to the dialogue.
The nearly five-hour meeting between Putin and US envoys Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner, which took place on Tuesday (12/2), dealt with only one topic: the war in Ukraine.
Moscow provided criticism and proposals for the documents taken by the Americans. Ushakov described the meeting as “frank,” “useful,” and “constructive,” noting that contacts would continue — but without a clause for a meeting between Putin and Donald Trump.
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Vladimir Putin visits the Joint Forces Command Center
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Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky speaks to the press before the European Union summit in Belgium
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Making progress on the front in parallel with the negotiations
- While negotiations proceed discreetly, the battlefield remains active. Moscow announced its control of the strategic cities of Pokrovsk and Vovchansk in eastern Ukraine.
- Kiev rejects the narrative and accuses Russia of exaggerating military gains amid the erosion of defense lines and mobilization difficulties.
- The Kremlin’s special representative, Kirill Dmitriev, celebrated the meeting with a leaflet accompanied by a symbol of a white dove, reinforcing the symbolism of a possible diplomatic breakthrough.
- Despite the positive tone, the Russian advisor confirmed that “an agreement has not been reached yet,” and that there is no plan for a meeting between Putin and US President Donald Trump.
- This possibility will depend on the progress achieved in the ongoing technical negotiations between the two diplomatic teams.
On the Ukrainian side, authorities left for Washington on Thursday, where they were invited to talk about the plan. President Volodymyr Zelensky has reiterated that Moscow should not be “rewarded” for starting the war and rejects any territorial concessions.
On Wednesday, Donald Trump took a jab at Zelensky, saying the Ukrainian “took too long” to start negotiating with Russia. “I said you don’t have any tricks up your sleeve,” Trump told reporters at the White House, referring to the meeting he held with the Ukrainian. “This was the right time to negotiate.” I thought it would have been a much better time to negotiate… They have a lot of things working against them right now.