Africa-Press – Cape verde. Russian President Vladimir Putin threatened to “liberate” territories in eastern Ukraine by force if Kiev troops do not withdraw from the area, in an interview broadcast on Indian television this Friday.
“Now everything has reached a critical point and it all comes down to one thing: either we liberate the territories through military action, or the Ukrainian troops withdraw and leave the country,” Putin said.
The Russian leader was referring to Russia, considering that the Donetsk and Lugansk regions, which constitute the so-called Donbass, belong to the Russian Federation.
The interview with India Today was recorded in Moscow on Wednesday, the day before Putin’s departure for a two-day visit to New Delhi, according to the Spanish news agency EFE.
Putin met with Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi in New Delhi this Friday.
Russia has sponsored a separatist war in Donetsk and Lugansk since 2014, with these countries unilaterally declaring independence and requesting integration into Russia.
A request for assistance from the two self-proclaimed republics was the direct origin of the invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, which initiated the ongoing war between the two countries that were once partners in the Soviet Union.
Moscow declared Donetsk and Lugansk part of the Russian Federation on September 30, 2022, along with Zaporizhia and Kherson, which it added to Crimea, annexed in 2014 but without Ukrainian and international recognition.
The withdrawal from Donbass, Ukraine’s renunciation of NATO membership, security guarantees, and Russian post-war reparations are some of the issues dividing the two sides in negotiations mediated by the United States.
The process has been marked in recent days by meetings between US special envoy Steve Witkoff and Putin in Russia, and between Ukrainian negotiator Rustem Umerov and the United States, without an agreement being reached so far.
Putin used an interview with India Today to address the negotiations with Washington and acknowledged that Moscow disagrees with some parts of the plan proposed by President Donald Trump.
The Russian leader assured that they had to review “every point” of the document presented in Moscow by Steve Witkoff.
Although he confirmed the discrepancies, Putin opted for caution and noted that it was premature to detail which aspects were not convenient for Moscow.
“To say now what is not convenient for us or how far we could reach an agreement is premature, as it could disrupt the way things are going that President Trump is trying to establish,” he justified.
Russia currently controls almost 20% of Ukrainian territory, including the entire Lugansk region and 80% of Donetsk.
The Russian army has carried out military operations in Donetsk in recent days, where, according to Moscow, it captured the stronghold of Pokrovsk.
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