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Russia 'will achieve goals by military means’: Putin's warning ahead of Zelensky-Trump meet
Zelensky is set to meet his American counterpart Donald Trump on Sunday in Florida to discuss the war which is nearing four years.
Russian President Vladimir Putin said on Saturday that Moscow would accomplish all its goal in Ukraine by force as the latter seems to be in no hurry for peace or to resolve the conflict, reported state news agency TASS.
Putin's remarks came as he visited a command post of the Russian Armed Forces.
"And if the Kiev authorities do not want to resolve the matter peacefully, we will accomplish all the tasks before us in the course of the special military operation by military means," he said, as quoted by TASS.
Also read: Ukraine capital Kyiv under massive Russian attack, mayor issues 'stay in shelter' warning
The Russian President said that Ukrainian regime are in “no hurry” to resolve the conflict peacefully. "We see that even today, unfortunately, the leaders of the Kiev regime are in no hurry to resolve this conflict peacefully. I spoke about this a year ago in a speech at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs," he said.
Putin's remarks came after Russia launched a drone and missile attack on Ukraine. On Saturday, Ukrainian President Zelensky shared visuals from the attack on X (formerly Twitter) and said that “since last night, there have been almost 500 drones – a large number of “shaheds” – as well as 40 missiles, including Kinzhals. The primary target is Kyiv – energy facilities and civilian infrastructure.”
In a follow-up post, Zelensky said that Ukraine's “number one” priority is “ending the war” and that it was Russia that is demonstrating “a desire to continue the war”.
Zelensky is set to meet his American counterpart Donald Trump on Sunday in Florida to discuss the war which is nearing four years and seeking a resolution to it.
On Saturday, Zelensky met Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney and the two leaders spoke with their “friends in Europe”, the former said. Canada also announced a new assistance package for Ukraine during the meeting.
While sharing glimpses of the meeting on X, Zelensky said that Russia turned down proposals for a Christmas ceasefire and “is intensifying the brutality of its missile and drone strikes.”
“This is a clear signal of how they truly regard diplomacy there,” he added.
