Topics: Donald Trump, Russia, Vladimir Putin, Volodymyr Zelenskyy, Ukraine
Vladimir Putin has thrown a spanner into the works for Donald Trump’s proposed peace deal to end the war between Russia and Ukraine, as he warned that Russia will not accept peace unless Kyiv withdraws its troops.
Since coming into office for a second term earlier this year, Trump seems to have been on a one-man mission to try and ‘solve’ as many global conflicts as possible.
Among the most challenging conflicts to resolve however, remains the ongoing war between Russia and Ukraine, which has now taken the title of Europe’s deadliest war since WW2.
Initially, the US president had proposed a 28-point plan which appeared to skew somewhat in Russia’s favor, and would see Kyiv surrender territory, cut its military and take future NATO membership off the table in order to broker peace.
Advert
Understandably, Ukraine rejected the proposal and, with further input from the US and European advisors, a revised proposal was welcomed by Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy on Monday (November 24).
Although the details of the revisions were not publicly released, Ukraine’s First Deputy Foreign Minister Sergiy Kyslytsya said the resulting draft had left both sides feeling 'positive'.
However, earning approval from Ukraine was only half of the battle, as Russia was unimpressed by the new proposals, prompting a candid and somewhat blunt reaction from Putin.
The Russian leader declared on Thursday (November 27) that if Ukraine fails to pull out of the territory Moscow claims as its own, it will have to resort to military force to achieve their objective.
“Some people demand to keep on fighting until the last Ukrainian dies, Russia is ready for that,” he warned.
“Ukrainian troops must withdraw from the territories they hold, and then the fighting will cease.
“'If they don't leave, then we shall achieve this by armed means. That's it.”
The Russian army has been slowly but steadily working its way through eastern Ukraine in a bloody and costly battle which has seen mass casualties on both sides.
“If Ukrainian forces leave the territories they hold, then we will stop combat operations,” Putin said at a press conference in Bishkek, Kyrgyzstan.
“If they don't, then we will achieve it by military means.”
At present, Russia currently occupies around a fifth of Ukraine’s territories, however Kyiv has repeatedly refused requests to surrender or cede this land even in the name of peace.
Russia launched its full-scale invasion of Ukraine back in February 2022, and almost four years of conflict have killed hundreds of thousands of people and forced millions to flee their homes.
While the conflict has proved costly both financially and humanly, Putin has at least expressed some desire to end it by acknowledging that a potential peace plan could be achieved.
“In general, we agree that this can be the basis for future agreements,” he said of the proposal put forth by the US, however several sticking points, in particular over disputed territory, remain the dealbreaker.
