Russian president Vladimir Putin has sparked renewed fears for World War 3 after revealing new plans for the country's military and its new nuclear missile.
Putin and his US counterpart President Donald Trump have been flexing the military and nuclear capabilities of their respective nations for months now.
Yet even with Christmas just beyond the horizon, Putin apparently isn't going to let his war machine slack anytime soon, having spoken to the Russian Defense Ministry board on Wednesday (December 17) to mark what he calls a 'significant milestone' in the country's military campaign this past year.
As Moscow's full-scale invasion of Ukraine reaches four years this coming February, the 73-year-old said troops have managed to occupy more than 300 settlements this year.
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He also assured the board of a change in strategy with a so-called security buffer zone and a new weapons system, which includes a new nuclear-capable intermediate range Oreshnik ballistic missile.
"The Russian Armed Forces are grinding down the enemy, including its elite units trained in Western military centers,” his address said in part.
Ominously, he also said Russia will try to extend even further into Ukraine if Kyiv and its Western allies refuse to tow to his demands amid ongoing peace talks.
Putin said the Kremlin would prefer to 'eliminate the root causes of the conflict' diplomatically, but warned 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'.
The president continued to claim the Russian army 'has seized and is firmly holding strategic initiative all along the front line' before indicating plans to expand a 'buffer security zone' alongside the Russian border.
"Our troops are different now, they are battle-hardened and there is no other such army in the world now."
As for Oreshnik, Russia first tested an armed version of the missile to strike a Ukrainian factory in November last year, which has now officially entered combat duty this December.
Putin claims the missile is impossible to intercept.
His harrowing statements follow yet another round of talks between Ukraine, the US and the EU for a US-drafted peace deal which the Kremlin indicates it would only agree to if its demands are met.
Among the demands include recognising all the four regions currently captured by Russian military as the country's territory, which includes Crimea.
Putin has also demanded Ukraine to retreat from certain areas in eastern parts of the country that his military have not moved in on yet while simultaneously insisting Ukraine gives up its bid to join NATO.
Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has said he would be keen to abandon the NATO plan if the US and other nations provide Kyiv with similar security guarantees that are given to NATO members, however, he stopped short at agreeing to pulling back troops in territories that haven't been taken by Russian troops.
However, President Trump remains confident an agreement is imminent.
"We believe that we probably solved ... 90 percent, literally 90 percent of the issues between Ukraine and Russia, but there's some more things that have to be worked out," a US official told ABC News earlier this week.
Topics: Vladimir Putin, Russia, Ukraine, Military, Donald Trump, US News
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