Russian President Vladimir Putin said on Wednesday that Russia’s objectives in Ukraine are unchanged and will be achieved through negotiations or further military advances if diplomatic efforts fail.
Speaking at an annual board meeting of the country’s Defense Ministry, Putin praised Russia’s military progress on the battlefield and technological advances as its war in Ukraine enters a fourth year.
“The objectives of the special military operation will undoubtedly be achieved,” he said, using the Kremlin term to refer to Moscow’s full-scale invasion in 2022.
“We would prefer to achieve this and address the root causes of the conflict through diplomatic means. However, if the opposing side and its foreign patrons refuse to participate in substantive dialogue, Russia will achieve the liberation of its historic territories through military means,” the Russian leader told military officials, according to a transcript of the speech released by the government.
Putin calls Trump’s peace plan a ‘starting point’ as he warns Ukraine to withdraw or face ‘force’
Russian President Vladimir Putin and Chief of the General Staff General Valery Gerasimov attend the annual board meeting of the Ministry of Defense in Moscow, December 17, 2025. (Alexander Kazakov/Sputnik, Kremlin Pool Photo via AP)
Putin also targeted Kiev and its European allies for “fueling hysteria” over Moscow as the Trump administration tries to end the war.
NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte warned allies last week that Russia could be prepared to use military force against the alliance within five years and urged members to boost defense spending and production so their armed forces have the resources to protect their homeland.
Putin called European leaders “piglets” at the Defense Ministry meeting, according to a translated video of Russian presidential envoy Kirill Dmitriev’s comments.
TRUMP PRAISES ‘GREAT PROGRESS,’ BUT SAYS HE WILL MEET PUTIN AND ZELENSKYY ‘ONLY WHEN’ THE PEACE DEAL IS FINAL
Russian troops hold a moment of silence during the Defense Ministry’s annual board meeting in Moscow on December 17, 2025. (Alexander Kazakov/Sputnik, Kremlin Pool Photo via AP)
The comment was part of a broader tirade against the West, with Putin accusing European governments of helping Washington weaken and divide Russia.
“They hoped to take advantage of the collapse of our country, regain something that was lost in previous historical periods and try to take revenge,” Putin said. “As it has now become clear to everyone, all these attempts and all these destructive plans towards Russia have completely failed.”
The comments come as U.S., European, Russian and Ukrainian officials engage in a flurry of diplomacy over possible paths to ending the war.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and his negotiating team met Jared Kushner and US special envoy Steve Witkoff in Berlin on Sunday to discuss security guarantees for Ukraine.
(Front row from left) Finnish President Alexander Stubb, Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk, French President Emmanuel Macron, German Chancellor Friedrich Merz, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, Steve Witkoff, Jared Kushner, Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni, and (back row from left) Jonas Gahr, NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte, Danish Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen, Ursula von der Leyen, Dutch Prime Minister Dick Schoof and Swedish Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson stand together in the Chancellery in Berlin, Germany on December 15, 2025. (Markus Schreiber, Pool/AP)
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Witkoff and Kushner held previously a five-hour meeting in Moscow with Putin and top foreign policy adviser Yuri Ushakov in early December to extract elements from a revised peace proposal, after the original leaked 28-point draft was criticized for being too favorable to the Kremlin.
Ushakov said the Russian side received four documents from the US envoys during the meeting, including one consisting of 27 points, but he declined to go into detail about what they contained.
