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ST PETERSBURG/KYIV: President Vladimir Putin said on Thursday that Russia would defeat Ukraine on the battlefield if necessary, but was ready to end the war via diplomacy and honour unspecified compromises he said had been agreed with US President Donald Trump.
Speaking to foreign media editors on the sidelines of Russia’s annual economic forum, Putin showed no signs of changing his stance that Ukraine must surrender the rest of its eastern Donbas region which Russia does not yet control for the war to end.
“The offensive is ongoing on a daily basis. At present, the Russian Federation has taken full control of the Luhansk Peoples Republic — 100 percent. And it has brought over 85 percent of the territory of the Donetsk Peoples Republic under its control,” said Putin.
“We are certainly prepared and willing to reach an agreement with Ukraine through peaceful means. Specifically, on the basis we discussed during our meeting with President Trump in Anchorage. Russia agrees to those compromises we discussed in Anchorage. The Ukrainian side must also agree to these compromises. Then the conflict will quickly come to a natural conclusion.”
