Russian President, Volodymyr Zelenskyy has blamed Ukraine for the continuing war, saying, “they are basically refusing to finish this conflict via peaceful means.”

Speaking at his year-end news conference, he acknowledged, however, that there are “some signals … indicating they are willing to engage in some type of dialogue.”

He noted that Russia would be willing to “put an end to this conflict via peaceful means,” but only “based on the principles I outlined … last year” that would see “the root causes that brought about this conflict … addressed,” a reference to the Kremlin’s tough conditions for a deal.

Earlier this week, Putin warned that Moscow would seek to extend its gains in Ukraine if Kyiv and its Western allies reject the Kremlin’s demands.

These principles were dismissed at the time as maximalist and unrealistic, essentially demanding humiliating concessions from Ukraine.

The Russian leader wants all the areas in four key regions captured by his forces, as well as the Crimean Peninsula, illegally annexed in 2014, to be recognized as Russian territory.

He has also insisted that Ukraine withdraw from some areas in eastern Ukraine that Moscow’s forces haven’t captured yet. Kyiv has publicly rejected all these demands.

The Kremlin has also insisted that Ukraine abandon its bid to join the Western NATO military alliance and warned that it wouldn’t accept the deployment of any troops from NATO members and would view them as “legitimate target.”

Also, Trump praised Donald Trump’s “serious efforts to conclude this conflict,” and saying that the US President is “sincere” in his attempt to end the war.

He claimed that Russia has been asked to make some compromises during the Anchorage talks with Trump and broadly agreed to them, so “saying that we reject anything or turn anything down is inappropriate and groundless.”

“The ball is entirely in the court of our western so-called opponents, the chief of the Kyiv regime, and … their European sponsors.”
Vladimir Putin

Voicing confidence that the Kremlin’s military goals would be achieved nearly four years after he ordered troops into the neighboring country, Putin said that Moscow’s troops were advancing across the battlefield in Ukraine.

At the annual live news conference, which is combined with a nationwide call-in show that offers Russians across the country the opportunity to ask questions of their leader, Putin declared that Russian forces have “fully seized strategic initiative” and would make more gains by the year’s end.

“Our troops are advancing all across the line of contact, faster in some areas or slower in some others, but the enemy is retreating in all sectors.”
Vladimir Putin

Putin Offers Take On EU Bid To Use Frozen Russian Assets

Putin offers take on the idea of using frozen Russian assets, saying that using the Russian assets to help Kyiv would have amounted to “robbery,” adding that the move would have spooked investors.

He said that the leaders failed to agree fearing that “the consequences could be really harsh for the robbers.”

On Friday, European Union leaders agreed to provide a massive interest-free loan, but they failed to bridge differences with Belgium that would have allowed them to use frozen Russian assets to raise the funds.

The leaders worked deep into night to reassure Belgium, where most of the frozen assets are held, that they would protect it from any retaliation from Moscow if it backed the plan, but as the talks bogged down the leaders eventually opted to borrow the money on capital markets.

Putin said that the move, if passed, would have undermined the confidence in the eurozone, with worrying precedent that could be abused in the future against other countries or groups.

“No matter what they steal, sooner or later, they will have to give it back, and most importantly, we will go to court to protect our interests. We will do our utmost to find a jurisdiction that will be independent from the political context.”
Vladimir Putin