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 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.
“There is an old rule: ‘Where a Russian soldier sets foot, that is ours.’” An audience of Russian politicians and 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 their 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 their 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 back seat 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 Mr Trump was not interested in taking a tougher stance with Moscow, three US officials told Reuters.
