The Russian<\/a> leader confirmed a visit by the U.S. delegation early next week.<\/p>\n “Ukrainian<\/a> troops will withdraw from the territories they occupy, and then the fighting will cease,” the Russian president told reporters. “If they don’t withdraw, we’ll achieve this through military force.”<\/p>\n Moscow has repeatedly rejected calls by Kyiv and its Western partners for a ceasefire, instead demanding that Ukraine cede the entire Donbas region.<\/p>\n Russia illegally declared all of the partially occupied Donetsk<\/a>, Luhansk, Zaporizhzhia, and Kherson oblasts as its territory during sham referenda in September 2022.<\/p>\n Putin stressed that the recognition of Russian rule over Crimea and Donbas \u2014 a demand Kyiv has ruled out \u2014 remains a key point in talks with the U.S.<\/p>\n The comments come after the Trump administration unveiled a 28-point peace plan for Ukraine last week, which imposed punishing conditions on Kyiv, including a limit on the military size, a ban on NATO membership, and a Ukrainian withdrawal from Donbas.<\/p>\n The plan came as the latest move in Trump’s uneven strategy for brokering an end to the all-out war, which is nearing its fourth anniversary.<\/p>\n Speaking at the press briefing, Putin repeated that the U.S. peace plan \u2014 an original version of which is speculated<\/a> to be based on a Russian document \u2014 could serve as the basis for future agreements, adding that the text needs further discussion.<\/p>\n The initial plan was met with pushback from Ukraine and Europe, and a revised version<\/a> of the draft was compiled after consultations between U.S., European, and Ukrainian officials in Geneva on Nov. 23.<\/p>\n Putin claimed that after the Geneva negotiations, the plan was divided into four parts, but did not elaborate further. He also revealed that the Russian Foreign Ministry and Kremlin aides Yuri Ushakov and Vladimir Medinsky would oversee the negotiations.<\/p>\n Commenting on the leaked call between Witkoff and Ushakov, Putin said such disclosures could amount to a criminal offense, while not ruling out that the intercepts might be fabricated.<\/p>\n The Kremlin’s chief alleged that those targeting Witkoff are the same actors who, alongside Ukraine’s leadership, “want to fight until the last Ukrainian.” He added, “As I’ve already said publicly, we’re ready for that.”<\/p>\n The Russian leader further declared that signing any documents with Ukraine is pointless, implying the Ukrainian leadership is not legitimate due to the postponement of elections.<\/p>\n<\/p>\n