Putin calls Zelensky's leadership ‘illegitimate’; says Russia will stop fighting when Ukraine withdraws

Russia controls nearly one-fifth of Ukraine's territory. The Russian forces are currently fighting the Ukrainian forces in eastern Ukraine.

Russian President Vladimir Putin on Thursday said Moscow would end its offensive in Ukraine if Kyiv withdraws from the territory Russia claims, adding that the country would take it by force if Kyiv doesn't agree.

Russian President Vladimir Putin gestures speaking to Russian journalists after the summit of the Collective Security Treaty Organisation (CSTO) in Bishkek, Kyrgyzstan. (AP)

"If Ukrainian forces leave the territories they hold, then we will stop combat operations," Putin said during a visit to Kyrgyzstan, adding, "If they don't, then we will achieve it by military means."

Russia controls nearly one-fifth of Ukraine's territory. The Russian forces are currently fighting the Ukrainian forces in eastern Ukraine, according to AFP.

Putin's statement comes amid a peace call to end the four-year war by the US and Europe. However, the issue of occupied land, which Kyiv has said it will never cede, has become the stumbling block in the peace process.

'Senseless to sign documents with illegitimate leadership'

Putin has also said it was senseless to sign any documents with what he called the Ukrainian illegitimate leadership.

The Russian leader said the Ukrainian leadership lost legitimacy after refusing to hold elections when President Volodymyr Zelensky's elected term expired. However, Ukraine has said it cannot hold elections while under martial law and defending its territory against Russia.

Meanwhile, Putin said that the Russian forces had encircled the Ukrainian army in Pokrovsk and Myrnograd in Ukraine's eastern Donetsk region.

"Krasnoarmeysk and Dimitrov are completely surrounded," the Russian President said, using the Russian names for the cities. However, Ukraine has denied the two areas being encircled, insisting its forces continue to hold the enemy along the front line.

He added that Moscow is also advancing in Vovchansk and Siversk, and approaching the logistic hub of Guliaipole.

The Russian offensive "is practically impossible to hold back, so there is little that can be done about it", Putin said.

Russia launched its full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, triggering the worst armed conflict in Europe since the Second World War.