Putin declares ‘all of Ukraine is ours' in latest blow to peace talks - and hints at nuclear threat
Vladimir Putin has declared that 'all of Ukraine is ours' in one of his most hardline comments on the country since Donald Trump took power.
In recent months the Russian president has danced around involvement in peace talks - without making any firm commitments - and even suggested he would be prepared to meet with Ukraine's Volodymyr Zekelensky.
But during a Q&A session at an investment event in St Petersburg, Putin was asked about his end goal in the protracted war in Ukraine, which is nearing the three-and-a-half year mark.
"I have said many times that I consider the Russian and Ukrainian people to be one nation. In this sense, all of Ukraine is ours,' Putin said according to Sky News' Moscow correspondent.
"There is an old rule. 'Where a Russian soldier sets foot, that is ours'." An audience of Russian politicians and other business figures responded to the president's words with applause.
Russian troops continue to push forward in eastern areas of Ukraine, concentrating the bulk of its attacks in the Donetsk region. On Saturday, the Russian defence ministry said it had captured another village, the settlement of Zaporizhzhya.
Putin appeared to later threaten the use of nuclear weapons on Ukraine - and promised 'catastrophic' consequences for his enemy if they were to use the dirty bomb in its defence against Russia. Kyiv has always denied it would use a dirty bomb - a device containing radioactive material alongside explosives.
"This would be a colossal mistake on the part of those whom we call neo-Nazis on the territory of today's Ukraine. It could be their last mistake,' Putin said.
"We always respond and respond in kind. Therefore, our response will be very tough."
During nearly three years of war while the Biden administration was in power, Moscow's sabre-rattling about the use of nuclear weapons was a regular occurrence.
The US president has now appeared to take a backseat in the Ukraine crisis and shifted his attention to the Middle East instead, where Iran and Israel are embroiled in a bloody air conflict.
Earlier this week, Washington disbanded a working group tasked with finding ways to pressure Russia into having peace talks with Ukraine, according to a report.
Efforts from the inter-agency working group came to a screeching halt when members realized Trump was not interested in taking a tougher stance with Moscow, three US officials told Reuters.
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
New York Times
11 minutes ago
- New York Times
Israeli Attacks in Iran Kill Three More Commanders, Israel Says
Israeli warplanes struck and killed three Iranian commanders, Israel's defense ministry said Saturday, including the head of the force that supports the Palestinian group Hamas and other proxy militias around the Middle East. The reported killing of the commanders expanded Israel's tally of assassinated Iranian officials in the nine days of war between the two countries. Israel identified the commander of the force that coordinates with proxy militias as Mohammed Said Izadi, and said he was killed in an assault on the holy city of Qum. The new attacks came amid fears that the war could expand with the involvement of the United States, a prospect that President Trump has kept vague, leaving the world guessing his intentions. Mr. Trump was scheduled to travel late Saturday afternoon from his golf club in Bedminster, N.J., to Washington, where he was to meet with his national security team in the evening and then again on Sunday. The president typically spends both weekend days out of town at one of his properties. Before Mr. Trump's return to the White House, flight tracker data suggested multiple B-2 military aircraft had taken off from a Midwestern military base. Defense analysts took note of flight movements amid the president's deliberations about whether to join Israel's efforts to destroy Iran's nuclear sites. Only Washington possesses the 30,000-pound bomb many consider essential to an air assault on Fordo, a deeply buried nuclear complex — and the aircraft, the B-2, capable of delivering the munition. The movement of the B-2s, however, did not mean a final decision had been made about whether to strike. It is not unusual to shift military assets into position to provide options to the president and military commanders even if they are not ultimately deployed. Want all of The Times? Subscribe.
New York Post
an hour ago
- New York Post
Deadly Russian assaults on Ukraine continue as date for new peace talks nears
At least one person was killed in Ukraine Friday night as Russia continued its unrelenting attacks, despite both parties reportedly inching closer to a new round of peace talks. A barrage of more than 20 Russian drones rained down on residential areas in the Ukrainian port city of Odesa and the northeastern city of Kharkiv overnight, according to officials. One civilian was killed and almost two dozen were injured, including two girls — 12 and 17-years-old — and three emergency workers. The strikes sparked fires that caused the partial collapse of a four-story apartment building and tore through the upper floors of a 23-story high-rise, leading to the evacuation of about 600 residents. Advertisement 4 Firefighters evacuated residents from a burning apartment building following Russia's massive air attack in Odesa. AP The Kremlin's attack also included 86 Iranian Shahed and decoy drones blasted across the country into Saturday, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said in a post on Telegram. 'Russia continues its tactics of targeted terror against our people,' Zelensky said in the post. Advertisement He called on Western countries to keep the pressure on Russia, including through sanctions. 'The sooner the sick people in the Kremlin lose the ability to finance the war, the more lives we can save in Ukraine,' Zelensky said. 4 Emergency responders worked at the site of an apartment building hit by a Russian drone strike in Odesa. via REUTERS In the 24 hours leading up to the nighttime attack, Russia bombarded its neighbor with hundreds more drones and cruise and ballistic missiles, according to Ukraine's air force. Advertisement The attacks followed an assault on Kyiv Tuesday that killed 28 and injured 142 others — marking the deadliest onslaught on the capital city this year. Meanwhile, the warring countries completed another round of prisoner exchanges on Friday, the second trade of POWs and soldiers' remains in two days, though neither side specified how many people were involved in the swap. 4 A kitchen in a high-rise apartment building was destroyed in a Russian drone attack in Odesa. AFP via Getty Images Zelensky said on X that most of his country's POWs had been held by Russia for more than two years, following their full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022. Advertisement The oldest of the released captives was 63 years old and another, a 45-year-old service member, was released on his birthday, Ukrainian negotiator Dmytro Lubinets said. Zelensky also charged Russian President Vladimir Putin with using the return of the dead to obscure the scale of its military losses from the public, the Kyiv Independent reported. 4 Residential buildings, businesses, civilian infrastructure and cars were wrecked in the overnight attacks, officials said. AFP via Getty Images At a press conference Friday, Zelensky said authorities confirmed that at least 20 of the bodies returned as Ukrainians were actually Russian soldiers. The two countries have carried out a series of swaps since renewing peace talks, which in Istanbul last month. The last negotiations were held on June 2 and though Kyiv has not spoken recently of them resuming, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said Friday that the date for the next round is expected to be agreed upon this coming week. With Post wires
Yahoo
an hour ago
- Yahoo
Ukraine received at least 20 bodies of Russian soldiers in recent exchanges, Zelenskyy says
KYIV, Ukraine (AP) — Ukraine's president said that Russia repatriated at least 20 of its own dead soldiers in recent exchanges with Ukraine, describing it as a result of Moscow's disorganization in carrying out large swaps of wounded POWs and remains of troops. Volodymyr Zelenskyy said that an Israeli citizen was among the dead Ukraine had received in recent exchanges. He spoke to journalists on Friday but his comments were embargoed until Saturday. Officials did not disclose the identities of the bodies. 'They threw the corpses of their citizens at us. This is their attitude toward war, toward their soldiers. And this is already documented. Sometimes these bodies even have Russian passports,' he said. He said the Russian side insisted the dead were all Ukrainians. Journalists were shown a Russian passport and ID belonging to one of the 20 dead Russians. According to the document, the man came from the Moscow region. Zelenskyy doubts Putin wants peace The exchanges of the dead and wounded soldiers are the only tangible result of direct peace talks in Istanbul. In June, Ukraine and Russia agreed to exchange the bodies of fallen soldiers in a 6,000-for-6,000 format during the second round of negotiations. Ukraine was concerned that the number was too high and that the sides did not have enough time for forensic examinations and checking the identities of the dead. Zelenskyy said he suspected Russia's plan was to play along with peace talks to appease the U.S. and stave off more sanctions but without ending the war that Russian President Vladimir Putin believes he is winning. He said that because of this, Ukraine would be 'in a really difficult situation' of deciding whether to continue the talks in Istanbul. Impact of Iran-Israel war on Ukraine Zelenskyy said Ukraine was against Iran acquiring nuclear weapons, because of its military partnership with Russia, but stopped short of expressing explicit support for Israel's strikes. He repeated that the new war in the Middle East will affect Ukraine indirectly. 'Iran gave the Russians everything to kill us. They gave them martyrs, they gave them missiles, and they gave them licenses. The fact that their production capacities have now become weaker is (a) positive for us. But at certain points it may already be too late,' he said, also citing Russia's military cooperation with North Korea. Russia has modified Iran-made Shahed drones and has used them, often hundreds at a time, in barrages targeting Ukraine. Zelenskyy said 39 Russian companies were involved in the production of Oreshnik, an intermediate-range ballistic missile capable of carrying a nuclear warhead. He said 21 of them are not under sanctions. 'And therefore it is absolutely incomprehensible why sanctions should not be imposed urgently,' he said. Russia attacked Ukraine with the missile in November, marking a serious escalation in the war and Russia's capabilities. Ukraine looks to Europe to boost domestic weapons Zelenskyy dispelled reports that Patriots air defense systems were destroyed in recent Russian drone and missile barrages. He also said Ukraine has started using domestically produced interceptors to shoot down Shahed drones and is seeking financing from Germany to ramp up the weapon's production. He added he sent signals to Western partners asking them to give up 0.25% of their GDP to support Ukraine's local defense industry. Zelenskyy said it's likely he would attend a NATO summit later this week, but that he would make a final decision on Monday. Though Zelenskyy did not meet Trump who had left early the Group of Seven summit in Canada last week, Ukraine's Economy Minister Yulia Svyrydenko and the head of the president's office, Andriy Yermak, gave U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent a list of weapons Ukraine is hoping to purchase. 'We will wait feedback,' Zelenskyy said, adding the package of weapons included Patriot systems. The weapons package would be among the topics Zelenskyy plans to discuss with Trump in their next meeting, he added, as well as the issue of sanctions. 'Frankly, it seems to me that we need to talk about a new breath in the diplomatic track,' he said. 'We need greater certainty and greater pressure from the world on Putin.' ___ Follow AP's coverage of the war in Ukraine at
