President Vladimir Putin said on Thursday he would halt Russia's military offensive in Ukraine if Kyiv withdraws from the territories Moscow claims as its own, warning that, otherwise, his military would seize the land by force.
The Russian army has been slowly but steadily grinding through eastern Ukraine in costly battles against outnumbered and outgunned Ukrainian forces.
Washington has, meanwhile, renewed its push to end the nearly four-year war, putting forward a surprise plan that it hopes to finalize through upcoming talks with Moscow and Kyiv.
"If Ukrainian forces leave the territories they hold, then we will stop combat operations," Putin told reporters at the end of a three-day visit to Kyrgyzstan. "If they don't, then we will achieve it by military means."
Russia controls around one-fifth of Ukraine's territory. The issue of occupied land, which Kyiv has said it will never cede, is among the biggest stumbling blocks in the peace process.
Another important issue in the talks are Western security guarantees for Ukraine, which Kyiv says are needed to prevent Moscow from invading again in the future.
The initial 28-point U.S. peace proposals appeared heavily skewed toward Russian demands, but an amended version emerged from talks in Geneva on Sunday between American and Ukrainian officials. Sidelined European leaders, fearing for their own security amid Russian aggression, are angling for deeper involvement in the process.
Washington's original plan – drafted without any input from Ukraine's European allies – would have seen Kyiv withdraw from its eastern Donetsk region and the U.S. de facto recognize the Donetsk, Crimea and Lugansk regions as Russian.
The U.S. has not yet released the new version.
US peace plan may be starting point
Putin, who has seen the new plan, said it could be a negotiation starter, adding that discussions so far were not about a draft agreement of any kind but about sets of issues.
He said that in Geneva, the U.S. and Ukraine had decided to divide up the 28 points into four separate components – and that a copy had been transmitted to Moscow.
"Overall, we agree that this could form the basis for future agreements," Putin said. "We see that the American side takes into account our position."
He said that some things still needed to be discussed. If Europe wanted a pledge not to attack it, then Russia was willing to give such a formal pledge, he said, though he added that it was "complete nonsense" to suggest Russia would attack Europe.
Kremlin officials have had little to say so far about the U.S. peace plan. Since Russia's invasion of its neighbor, Putin has shown no willingness to budge from his goals in Ukraine despite U.S. President Donald Trump's push for a settlement.
Putin has previously demanded that Ukraine completely withdraw from the entirety of Donetsk, Luhansk, Kherson and Zaporizhia regions before Russia considers any sort of "peace negotiations" – notably including areas of each of those oblasts that Russia does not occupy.
He also wants to keep Ukraine from joining NATO and hosting any Western troops, allowing Moscow to gradually pull the country back into its orbit.
U.S. special envoy Steve Witkoff is expected in Moscow next week to discuss the revised document, Putin said.
U.S. Army Secretary Dan Driscoll, who in recent weeks has played a high-profile role in the peace efforts, is meanwhile due to visit Kyiv later this week, Ukraine's top presidential aide Andriy Yermak said.
Analysts say Putin is attempting to outwait the commitment of Western countries to supporting Ukraine's war effort. Trump has previously signaled he could walk away from efforts to stop the fighting if there is no progress. European officials say Putin is stalling because Russia wants to grab more of Ukraine before accepting any deal.
Putin touts Russian battlefield pressure
In his remarks Thursday, Putin repeated the claim that Russia had encircled the Ukrainian army in Pokrovsk and Myrnograd in the Donetsk region.
"Krasnoarmeysk and Dimitrov are completely surrounded," he said, using the Russian names for the cities.
Moscow was also advancing in Vovchansk and Siversk, as well as approaching the important logistic hub of Guliaipole, he added.
The Russian offensive "is practically impossible to hold back, so there is little that can be done about it," Putin said.
Ukraine has denied that Pokrovsk and Myrnograd are encircled, insisting its forces continue to hold the enemy along the front line.
Putin also questioned Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy's legitimacy and said signing any agreement with him would be legally "almost impossible" at the moment, a suggestion that has drawn groans from Kyiv and its allies.
Situation on the battlefield
Russian officials have claimed they have battlefield momentum in Ukraine, even though their slow progress has been costly in terms of casualties and armor.
The Institute for the Study of War on Wednesday cast doubt on Russian claims that its invasion is unstoppable, as it is still struggling to capture cities in the eastern Donetsk region.
"Data on Russian forces' rate of advance indicates that a Russian military victory in Ukraine is not inevitable, and a rapid Russian seizure of the rest of Donetsk Oblast (region) is not imminent," the Washington-based think tank said.
"Recent Russian advances elsewhere on the front line have largely been opportunistic and exploited seasonal weather conditions."
In the latest example of tension between Moscow and European countries, Russia's Foreign Ministry said Thursday that it had ordered the closure of Poland's Consulate General in the eastern city of Irkutsk.
The tit-for-tat move follows the closure of Russia's Consulate General in the Polish city of Gdansk in November. In a statement, the Russian Foreign Ministry said that Moscow would not "allow such actions to go unanswered."
Poland announced the closure of the Gdansk consulate after a railway line close to Warsaw was sabotaged in mid-November. Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk later said that two Ukrainian citizens working for Russia were suspected of carrying out the attack.
The diplomatic developments have come against a backdrop of continued fighting.
A 53-year-old man was killed in a Russian drone attack in Ukraine's northern Sumy region, officials said on Thursday. Also, Russia attacked Ukraine’s Odesa and Dnipropetrovsk regions early Thursday, injuring three people and starting fires, local authorities said. Russia launched 142 drones at Ukraine overnight, according to Ukraine's air force.
Meanwhile, Russian air defenses downed 118 Ukrainian drones overnight above various Russian regions and the Black Sea, the Russian Defense Ministry said.
Ukraine's army isn't only under pressure on the battlefield. Zelenskyy's government is mired in a major corruption scandal and is short of money.
In a development offering some relief, Ukraine reached an agreement for the International Monetary Fund (IMF) to provide $8.1 billion over four years, according to a statement by the institution. The money comes from a fund that helps countries facing medium-term payment difficulties.
But Ukraine's state budget and military needs for 2026 and 2027 are estimated at $153 billion.