Russian President Vladimir Putin has issued a stark warning that Moscow will seek to extend its territorial gains in Ukraine if Kyiv and its Western allies refuse to accept the Kremlin's conditions in ongoing peace negotiations.
Putin's Ultimatum at Military Meeting
The warning was delivered by Putin on Wednesday 17 December 2025 during an annual gathering with the country's top military commanders. He stated that while Russia would prefer to achieve its objectives through diplomacy, it was prepared to use force if necessary.
"If the opposing side and its foreign patrons refuse to engage in substantive dialogue, Russia will achieve the liberation of its historical lands by military means," Putin declared. He asserted that the Russian army holds the strategic initiative across the entire front line and plans to expand a "buffer security zone" along its border with Ukraine.
In a show of confidence, Putin praised Russia's battle-hardened troops and highlighted the modernisation of its nuclear arsenal. He specifically noted the new nuclear-capable Oreshnik ballistic missile, which he said would officially enter combat duty this month. Russia first used a conventional version of this missile to strike a Ukrainian factory in November 2024.
Irreconcilable Demands Stall US-Led Diplomacy
Putin's tough rhetoric follows several rounds of talks this week involving Ukrainian, American, and European officials regarding a US-drafted peace plan. US President Donald Trump has launched an extensive diplomatic push to end the nearly four-year conflict that began with Russia's full-scale invasion in February 2022.
However, the process has been hamstrung by fundamentally incompatible positions. The Kremlin demands:
- International recognition of Russian sovereignty over Crimea (annexed in 2014) and four other regions seized since 2022.
- Ukrainian withdrawal from additional areas in eastern Ukraine not currently under Russian control.
- Ukraine's permanent abandonment of its bid to join NATO, with Moscow threatening to view any NATO troop deployment as a "legitimate target."
In response, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has shown a willingness to drop NATO membership aspirations if provided with equivalent security guarantees from the US and other Western nations. However, he has firmly rejected ceding control over territories, including parts of the eastern Donetsk region, that Russian forces have failed to capture.
Following talks with US envoys in Berlin, Zelenskyy described the draft peace plan as "not perfect" but "very workable," noting progress on security guarantees but acknowledging the unresolved issue of territorial control.
Russian Military Maps Further Offensive Plans
Reporting to Putin at the same meeting, Defence Minister Andrei Belousov outlined concrete plans for further military advances. He stated that recent Russian gains in Donetsk have created conditions for a rapid push into the remaining Ukrainian-controlled parts of the region.
Belousov also declared intentions to drive Ukrainian forces from parts of the Zaporizhzhia region—illegally annexed in 2022 but never fully captured—and to extend operations into neighbouring Dnipropetrovsk. "The key task for the next year is to preserve and accelerate the tempo of the offensive," he stated.
His report included plans to bolster Russian military capabilities, with a focus on drones, electronic warfare systems, and air defence assets.
Sustained Aerial Assaults Continue
As diplomatic efforts flounder, violence on the ground persists. Russia continues daily missile and drone strikes across Ukraine. On Wednesday, at least 26 people were injured by Russian glide bombs in Zaporizhzhia and its vicinity, damaging residential buildings and an educational facility.
The Ukrainian air force reported that Russia launched at least 69 long-range drones overnight, with air defences intercepting or jamming 29 of them. Russia's Defence Ministry, meanwhile, claimed to have shot down 94 Ukrainian drones over Russian territory.
Inside Russia, drone attacks in the Krasnodar region injured two people and damaged houses, while in the Voronezh region, drone fragments caused a fire at an infrastructure facility after damaging a power line.
The situation underscores the grim reality that despite intense diplomatic activity, the war—and the suffering it causes—rages on with no clear end in sight.
