Moscow intent on pressing on in Ukraine: Putin

MOSCOW:

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

Speaking during his annual end-of-year news conference — a staple of his 25-year rule — Putin told Russians that Moscow was intent on pressing on in Ukraine, striking a confident tone.

The 73-year-old repeatedly says that Moscow will seize the rest of Ukrainian land he has proclaimed as Russian by force if talks fail.

Putin said 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 consider ourselves responsible for the loss of life."

Putin ordered the all-out assault in Ukraine in February 2022, sending troops and tanks towards Kyiv.

He also denied dragging out settlement talks and turning down proposals — claiming Moscow had agreed to "some compromises" — without elaborating.

"The ball is now fully and completely on the side of our Western opponents... first of all the head of the Kyiv regime and their European sponsors," Putin said.

The United States, Ukraine and Europeans have been refining a proposal first put forward by Washington last month that many saw as heeding most of Moscow's core demands for how the conflict should end.

Our troops advancing

Putin said that Russia's recent advances in Ukraine should force Kyiv to agree to a deal — that original version of which included Ukraine ceding land to Moscow.

Russia and Washington are also pushing Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky to hold a presidential election, with Putin saying Russia could halt long-range strikes on voting day.