Moscow intends to put pressure on Ukraine: Putin

Russia’s Vladimir Putin said on Friday the ball was in the court of the West and Kiev in talks to end the war in Ukraine, while hailing Moscow’s recent gains on the battlefield and threatening more.

Speaking during his annual end-of-year news conference – a staple of his 25-year rule – Putin told Russians Moscow intended to put pressure on Ukraine, striking a tone of confidence.

The 73-year-old has repeatedly said Moscow will take the rest of the Ukrainian land it has declared Russian by force if talks fail.

Putin said on Friday he did not feel personally responsible for the tens of thousands of people killed since Moscow launched its offensive, which has become Europe’s worst conflict since World War II.

“We did not start this war,” he said, repeating a frequent narrative pushed by Moscow throughout the conflict.

“We do not hold ourselves responsible for the loss of life.”

Putin has ordered an all-out attack on Ukraine in February 2022, sending troops and tanks to Kiev.

He also denied delaying settlement talks and rejected proposals – claiming Moscow had agreed to “some compromises” – without elaborating.

“The ball is now fully and completely in the court of our Western adversaries … first of all the head of the Kiev regime and their European sponsors,” Putin said.

The United States, Ukraine and Europeans have refined a proposal first floated by Washington last month that many saw as meeting Moscow’s key demands for how the conflict should end.

Our troops are advancing

Putin said Russia’s recent advances in Ukraine should force Kiev to agree to a deal – the original version of which included ceding Ukrainian land to Moscow.

Russia and Washington are also pressing Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky to hold a presidential election, with Putin saying Russia may stop long-range strikes on polling day.