Vladimir Putin has made a chilling nuclear threat and warned that Russia is prepared fight ‘until the last Ukrainian dies’ if Kyiv doesn’t withdraw its troops, as suggested under Donald Trump’s proposed peace deal.
The Russian leader said on Thursday that Moscow will achieve its objectives by force, and when asked about nuclear testing, he declared that Russia ‘should be prepared for any developments’.
‘Some people demand to deep on fighting until the last Ukrainian dies, Russia is ready for that’, he added.
‘Ukrainian troops must withdraw from the territories they hold, and then the fighting will cease.
‘If they don’t leave, then we shall achieve this by armed means. That’s it,’ Putin said as he noted that Russian forces were advancing in Ukraine at a faster pace.
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 finalise through upcoming talks with Moscow and Kyiv.
‘If Ukrainian forces leave the territories they hold, then we will stop combat operations,’ Putin said.
Russian President Vladimir Putin attends the summit of the Collective Security Treaty Organisation (CSTO) at the Administrative complex Yntymak-Manas Ordo, in Bishkek, Kyrgyzstan, on Thursday, Nov. 27, 2025
The Russian leader’s remarks come after Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said on Tuesday he was ready to advance a US-backed framework for ending the war with Russia
‘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, has become the key stumbling block in the peace process.
Putin’s stark warning comes after he acknowledged that the outlines of a draft peace plan discussed by the US and Ukraine could become the basis of future agreements to end the conflict in Ukraine.
‘In general, we agree that this can be the basis for future agreements,’ Putin said, adding that the variant of the plan discussed by the the US and Ukraine in Geneva had been passed to Russia.
He added that the US was taking into account Russia’s position but that some things still need to be discussed.
The Russian president also said that if Europe wanted a pledge not to attack it, then Moscow was willing to give such a pledge.
Putin added that he considered the Ukrainian leadership to be illegitimate and so it was legally impossible to sign a deal with Ukraine, so it was important to ensure any agreement was recognised by the international community – and that the international community recognised Russian gains in Ukraine.
Putin also repeated the claim that Russia had encircled the Ukrainian army in Pokrovsk and Myrnograd in Ukraine’s eastern Donetsk region – the most fiercely embattled area and a key target for Moscow’s forces.
‘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 Pokrovsk and Myrnograd are encircled, insisting its forces continue to hold the enemy along the front line.
Moscow launched its full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, triggering the worst armed conflict in Europe since World War II.
It has killed hundreds of thousands of people and forced millions to flee their homes.
The Russian leader’s remarks come after Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said on Tuesday he was ready to advance a US-backed framework for ending the war with Russia and discuss disputed points with US President Donald Trump in talks he said should include European allies.
US and Ukrainian officials have been trying to narrow their gaps over Trump’s plan to end Europe’s deadliest and most devastating war since World War Two, with Ukraine wary of being strong-armed into accepting a deal largely on Russian terms, including territorial concessions.
