Moscow will continue pursuing its goals, the Russian president has said
Russian President Vladimir Putin speaks in Moscow, Russia on April 21, 2026. © Sputnik / Yury Kochetov
Russia’s adversaries are busy thinking about how to “shape” the country’s victory in the Ukraine conflict, Russian President Vladimir Putin has suggested.
The
president made the remarks in response to remarks made by the head of
the local legislature of the city of Nizhny Novgorod, Evgeny Chintsov,
during a meeting with representatives of the country’s municipalities.
Chintsov said that “nobody, including the enemy” doubts that the conflict will result in Russia’s victory.
Putin agreed but appeared to caution against making overly bold statements prematurely.
“Yes, they are just thinking about how to shape it all; we’ll see. However, military action is always a very complicated and dangerous thing. We know how everything will end, but we will not make any public statements about it. We will simply strive to achieve the goals we have set,” the president said.
Early in the conflict, Moscow outlined the goals it seeks to achieve
through the Ukraine operation and maintains they have remained unchanged
ever since. These include demilitarization and denazification of the
country and protection of Russian speakers, as well as ensuring
Ukrainian neutrality. Additional goals that emerged later also include
the recognition of the formerly Ukrainian regions that voted to join
Russia.
Moscow has repeatedly signaled openness to resolve the
hostilities through diplomacy, should its demands be met, while
maintaining its readiness to achieve its goals by force should the
negotiating efforts ultimately fail. Territorial issues seem to have
become the main obstacle in the negotiations, as Kiev has repeatedly
refused to withdraw its forces from the parts of Donbass it still
controls.