Putin Ready To End War If Treated With ‘Respect’; Ukraine Reclaims Ground In Kupiansk
Putin has said that there would be no more wars but under strict conditions. Image courtesy: RNA
Ukraine’s battlefield gains this week have directly contradicted repeated Russian assertions of victory, sharpening the contrast between realities on the ground and messaging from Moscow. Ukrainian forces have regained around 90% of Kupiansk in the northern Kharkiv region, according to Kyiv’s military leadership.
This marks yet another big gain for Kyiv in addition to the recent 90 billion euro loan it bagged from the European Union on Friday (December 19, 2025). EU leaders have agreed to borrow funds to provide Ukraine with a 90 billion euro interest-free loan over the next two years, helping Kyiv sustain its defence against Russia.
On the battlefield, Ukrainian units cut Russian supply lines into Kupiansk, surrounded a vanguard of about 200 Russian soldiers, and cleared enemy forces from forests north of the city on December 12. Geolocated footage the following day showed Ukrainian troops advancing through southern districts, including Yuvileynyi, pushing Russian units towards the city’s northern and western edges.
Ukraine’s General Staff said Russian reinforcements were blocked from entering the city, including through a gas pipeline route previously used by Moscow elsewhere, leaving isolated Russian troops reliant on drone resupply.
Russian denials clash with Ukrainian military briefings
Despite these developments, Russia’s Defence Ministry claimed that its Zapad Group of Forces was exercising “reliable control” over all districts of Kupiansk and suppressing Ukrainian advances from the south. Russian military bloggers, however, acknowledged that much of the city had slipped into a “grey zone” or Ukrainian control.
Speaking to Ukraine’s allies at a Ramstein-format meeting, Army chief Colonel General Oleksandr Syrskii said Ukrainian forces had reclaimed 90% of Kupiansk. At the same time, Russian Defence Minister Andrei Belousov told President Vladimir Putin that Ukraine was unsuccessfully trying to retake the city.
Ukraine’s Center for Countering Disinformation accused senior Russian officials of deliberately misleading Putin over the situation on the ground.
Pokrovsk claims disputed as Ukraine regains territory
A similar narrative clash has played out around Pokrovsk (Krasnoarmeysk) and neighbouring Myrnohrad (Dimitrov) in eastern Donetsk. Belousov claimed Russian forces had seized Pokrovsk and were close to defeating Ukrainian defenders in the area.
Ukrainian commanders dispute this, saying their forces have regained about 16 square kilometres in northern Pokrovsk and 56 square kilometres west of the city, while continuing operations despite strained logistics in Myrnohrad. Russia has maintained its claim of full control since December 2, 2025.
Historic underwater drone strike sparks fresh dispute
Another flashpoint in the ongoing conflict has been Ukraine’s claimed use of an underwater unmanned vehicle (UUV) to damage a Russian Kilo-class submarine at anchor in Novorossiysk earlier this week on December 15, 2025, an attack described as the first of its kind in warfare.
Video footage showed a major explosion near the submarine’s stern, and Ukraine’s State Security Service later claimed responsibility. Russia’s Defence Ministry denied any damage, releasing footage of what it said was the submarine above water, though the stern section was not visible.
Deep strikes into Russia continue
Ukraine has also intensified long-range strikes inside Russia. Targets hit since December 12, 2025 include the Yaroslavl oil refinery, the Afipsky refinery in Krasnodar Krai, the Uryupinsk oil depot in Volgograd, and the Dorogobuzhskaya power plant in Smolensk. Moscow has not commented on several of these attacks.
Against this backdrop, US and Ukrainian negotiating teams met for two days in Berlin, while Russian officials said they would be briefed next week. However, Moscow simultaneously signalled plans to sustain offensive operations. Belousov told an expanded Defence Ministry meeting that Russia’s key task next year was to “maintain and increase the pace of the offensive.”
Russia-Ukraine conflict: Putin signals peace
Putin has said that there would be no more wars but under strict conditions. In a separate televised “Direct Line” event lasting nearly four and a half hours, the Russian President claimed they would not launch further wars after Ukraine, if Russia is treated “with respect” and its interests are recognised.
He dismissed warnings that Moscow could attack Europe as “nonsense,” while again blaming Nato’s eastward expansion for the conflict. The Russian President went on to add that Russia was ready to end the war “peacefully,” but repeated long-standing demands, including Ukraine withdrawing from four partially occupied regions and abandoning Nato aspirations.
“There won’t be any operations if you treat us with respect, if you respect our interests just as we’ve always tried to respect yours,” he told BBC Russia. With this, the Russian President also added the condition that there would be no further Russian invasions “if you don’t cheat us like you cheated us with Nato’s eastward expansion”.
‘West’ the real roadblock in the Russia-Ukraine peace plan?
While praising US President Donald Trump’s “sincere” efforts to end the war that has been going on for nearly 4 years now, Putin blamed the West, instead of Russia, for blocking the peace plan. “The ball is in the hands of our Western opponents,” he said, “primarily the leaders of the Kyiv regime, and in this case, first and foremost, their European sponsors.”
Putin further accused the West of creating an enemy out of Moscow and told the publication, “We are ready to work with you – with the UK and with Europe in general and with the United States, but as equals, with mutual respect to each other.”
“We are ready to cease these hostilities immediately, provided that Russia’s medium- and long-term security is ensured, and we are ready to cooperate with you,” Putin underlined.
Casualties and manpower claims under scrutiny
Russia has sought to project manpower resilience, with Belousov claiming almost 410,000 volunteers joined the military, or 32,800 per month. The Institute for the Study of War noted this roughly matches, but does not exceed, Russia’s estimated average monthly casualties of 34,600 in 2025.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said Russia was losing around 30,000 soldiers killed each month, citing drone footage, while Syrskii said Russian troop numbers have stagnated at about 710,000 due to sustained Ukrainian attrition.
As Putin speaks of peace conditioned on sweeping security demands, Ukraine’s advances around Kupiansk, contested claims in Donetsk, and expanding drone warfare underscore a widening gap between Kremlin rhetoric and battlefield realities.
