Putin claims Russia has "zero" interest in voluntary withdrawal of Ukrainian troops

KATERYNA TYSHCHENKO - 27 December, 20:09

Vladimir Putin. Stock photo: Getty Images

Kremlin leader Vladimir Putin has claimed that given the pace of the Russian advance, Russia has "zero" interest in the Armed Forces of Ukraine withdrawing from the territories they occupy. Putin said this during a visit he allegedly made to a Russian command post ahead of the meeting between the presidents of Ukraine and the United States regarding the peace plan.

Source: Putin, as quoted by the Russian propaganda agency TASS

Details: The Russian leader repeated his threat to accomplish "all the objectives of the special military operation" (as the Russians call the war against Ukraine) militarily if Kyiv "does not wish to end the matter peacefully".

TASS reported that Putin was briefed on the alleged Russian occupation of Myrnohrad in Donetsk Oblast (which Russia refers to by its old name, Dymytrov) and Huliaipole in Zaporizhzhia Oblast, as well as several other settlements.

However, the occupation of these settlements has not been confirmed by Ukrainian sources or DeepState, a Ukrainian group of military analysts. There have been numerous occasions when Russian propagandists have announced the capture of territories that were at least partially under Ukrainian control.

Putin claimed that the capture of Myrnohrad is a serious step towards the full occupation of Donbas, and that Huliaipole opens up favourable prospects for the Russian advance. He also boasted that all the objectives of the war against Ukraine are supposedly being accomplished as planned, and that the creation of a security buffer zone along the Russian-Ukrainian border "is proceeding at a good pace".

Background:

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and US President Donald Trump are set to meet at the US president's villa in Florida on 28 December.
The Russians have insisted on the voluntary withdrawal of Ukrainian troops from the entire territory of Donbas, but Ukraine does not agree to these terms.
On 24 December, Zelenskyy revealed the contents of a 20-point peace plan agreed between Ukraine and the US for the first time.
Zelenskyy explained that Russia wants Ukraine to voluntarily withdraw from Donetsk Oblast, while the United States is proposing a compromise in the form of a free economic zone. If there is no agreement on the principle of freezing the conflict along the lines of contact, the free economic zone can only be adopted through a referendum, Zelenskyy said.

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