Putin Doubles Down on Ukraine Demands

In year-end news conference, he says Russia will achieve goals through talks or through force
Posted Dec 19, 2025 7:53 AM CST
Putin Doubles Down on Ukraine Demands
Russian President Vladimir Putin, left, speaks during his annual news conference and call-in show at Gostinny Dvor, in Moscow, on Friday, Dec. 19, 2025.   (AP Photo/Pavel Bednyakov)

Russian President Vladimir Putin used his year-end press conference and call-in show to say that Russia is "ready and willing" to end its war in Ukraine peacefully, as long as all Moscow's demands are met. Putin said Russia doesn't "really see such readiness" from Ukraine for peace talks, but there are "signals" that Kyiv is "ready to engage in some kind of dialogue," Reuters reports.

  • Putin said Russia would achieve its goals militarily if Kyiv fails to agree to its conditions, the AP reports. "Our troops are advancing all across the line of contact, faster in some areas or slower in some others, but the enemy is retreating in all sectors," he said.

  • Putin mocked Volodymyr Zelensky for posting a selfie from a city Russian claimed to have occupied, noting that it was taken outside Kupiansk's welcome sign, the New York Times reports. "The sign is located outside the city, about a kilometer away," Putin said. "Well, why are you standing on the threshold? Come inside, right?" The Times notes that's a reference to a Russian superstition that it's bad luck to greet somebody from a home's threshold.
  • Putin said Moscow would accept a settlement of conditions he previously laid out at Russia's Foreign Ministry and framed as addressing the "root causes" of the conflict. He wants all the areas captured by Russian troops in four key areas to be recognized as Russian territory, along with the withdrawal of Ukrainian troops from areas the Russians haven't occupied, the AP reports. Other demands include limits on the size of Ukraine's military.

  • European Union leaders agreed Friday to fund Ukraine for two years with a loan of $105 billion, though they failed to reach agreement on whether to use frozen Russian assets to back the loan, the New York Times reports. Putin warned during his news conference that touching the Russian assets would undermine other countries' trust in the EU.
  • Putin's hourslong year-end news conference offers ordinary Russians a chance to ask the leader questions. The Kremlin says it uses AI to sort through the millions of requests. Reuters reports that one man used the news conference to propose to his girlfriend and invite Putin to the wedding.

Read These Next
Get the news faster.
Tap to install our app.
X
Install the Newser News app
in two easy steps:
1. Tap in your navigation bar.
2. Tap to Add to Home Screen.

X