Putin Vows to Fight On Until Russia Controls Annexed Regions

Russian President Vladimir Putin has said Russia will continue its military campaign until it has fully captured four Ukrainian regions that Moscow claims as its own territory.

He rejected Kyiv’s proposal for a mutual halt to long-range attacks, saying it was merely an attempt to relieve pressure on Ukrainian troops along the front line.

According to Putin, Russian strikes deep inside Ukrainian territory are significantly more effective, and Moscow has no interest in “saving the Kyiv regime”.

At the same time, he acknowledged that Ukrainian drone attacks had caused fuel supply disruptions in several Russian regions, but described the situation as manageable. He also announced a significant increase in the production of air defense systems.

Putin also said he expected US-led diplomatic efforts to resume once the “hot phase” of the US-Israeli conflict with Iran had been resolved, and did not rule out further talks with US envoys. He said Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko could also assist with possible peace talks.

(Reuters, mja)