‘Whole of Ukraine is ours,' Putin muses without ruling out capturing key city
'Wherever a Russian soldier steps foot, that's ours,' he added.
Putin's insistence on maintaining the offensive in Ukraine has come at a diplomatic cost. President Trump's election last year gave Russia hope that it could restore economic and diplomatic ties with the United States while continuing to wage war in Ukraine, but Trump has become impatient with Russia's insistence on continuing the war.
The Russian president made clear he had no intentions of soon ending the war. But it was less clear whether Putin, whose comments came in response to a question about his military's ultimate goals in Ukraine, was suggesting that Russia would annex additional territory beyond the four Ukraine regions that it has already declared are officially part of Russia.
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In peace talks, the Kremlin has insisted on formal recognition of sovereignty over those regions — one of several positions that are unacceptable to the Ukrainian government. But since those annexations, Russian forces have pushed into three additional regions.
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On Friday, before Putin's remarks, the Kremlin made its most direct statement yet, acknowledging that improved relations with the US were tied to Russia's willingness to end the war.
'American diplomats believe that we need to directly tie the process of removing the irritants in bilateral relations with the settlement in Ukraine,' Dmitry Peskov, the Kremlin's spokesperson, told reporters at the conference Friday.
Peskov reiterated the Kremlin's position, which is that it wants to discuss relations with the United States separately from efforts to end the war in Ukraine.
The Kremlin has been hoping that a thaw with Washington would lead to the lifting of some economic sanctions, the return of some American companies, US investments in Russian natural resources, and more leeway for Russia to assert its interests in former Soviet states.
At the same time, Putin has shown little interest in bending to US, European, and Ukrainian demands to agree to a ceasefire in Ukraine, where his forces are on the offensive.
Trump had promised to end the war in Ukraine 24 hours after taking office, but efforts to mediate have been dogged by deep disagreements between the warring countries about what peace should look like.
After two direct meetings between Russian and Ukrainian representatives, the negotiations have led only to agreements to exchange prisoners of war and bodies of fallen soldiers.
Frustrated by the lack of progress, Trump has his diplomatic attention elsewhere, most recently the conflict between Iran and Israel, where he is considering whether to join the war on the side of Israel.
Meanwhile, Russian air assaults on Ukraine have intensified in recent weeks, dimming any hopes for a ceasefire. On Thursday night, Russia launched drone attacks on Odesa and Kharkiv, injuring 20 people and killing one person in Odesa, President Volodymyr Zelenskyy of Ukraine said on Facebook.
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Peskov said Russia expected Russian and Ukrainian representatives to set a date for their third meeting next week, but that the Kremlin was determined to achieve its stated goals in Ukraine either diplomatically or militarily.
The talks between Russia and the United States on restoring bilateral ties have also been dragging. Despite multiple phone calls between Putin and Trump this year and at least four public meetings of Russian and American officials over the same period, nothing substantive has been achieved so far on that issue. The two countries' diplomatic missions are still understaffed and some consulates are still shut.
There has also not been any tangible movement in terms of American companies returning to Russia or sanctions being lifted. The St. Petersburg conference, a yearly event promoted by the Kremlin as a magnet for Western businesses, has turned into a platform where Russian state companies showcase themselves. Again this year, no major American investors showed up and there was little sign of Western interest.
At the conference, Putin instructed government members that they cannot allow it to slip into 'stagnation and even recession.'
'This cannot be allowed under any circumstances,' Putin said.
On Thursday, Russia's economy minister said the country was on the verge of sliding into a recession, putting more pressure on its central bank to lower interest rates, which now are at 20 percent.
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