Russian President Vladimir Putin said on March 27 that Moscow has "enough forces and means" to bring its war against Ukraine to a "logical conclusion" without making any meaningful concessions, it has been revealed in new clips from a documentary released on May 18.
"Russia has enough forces and means to bring what we started in 2022 to a logical conclusion with the result Russia needs," Putin said while recording the film "Russia. Kremlin. Putin. 25 Years."
"This result is the elimination of the causes that led to this crisis, the creation of conditions for long-term sustainable peace, and the security of the Russian state."
The documentary aired on May 4 but made only passing references to the U.S.-led peace process ongoing at the time of the interview.
The latest comments — publicly withheld until now and posted on Telegram by the interviewer — come nearly four months into U.S. President Donald Trump's push for a ceasefire which has been repeatedly rejected by Russia, and two days after the first direct talks between Ukrainian and Russian delegations since 2022, in which Moscow reiterated its maximalist demands.
A source in the Ukrainian President's Office told the Kyiv Independent that Russia's delegation in Istanbul on May 16 reiterated demands for Ukraine to retreat from all annexed territories.
The development comes ahead of a scheduled May 19 phone call between Putin and Trump, who continues to attempt to broker a ceasefire.
In the new comments, Putin said a priority is securing Russian-speaking populations in territories Russia claims as its own — a reference to Crimea and the partially occupied Donetsk, Luhansk, Zaporizhzhia, and Kherson oblasts.
The Kremlin declared its annexation of the four regions in 2022 after sham referenda, despite not fully controlling any of them.
Moscow also insisted Ukraine abandon NATO ambitions, forgo reparations, and accept a neutral status with no foreign military support — demands Kyiv has categorically rejected.
Despite initiating the Istanbul talks, the Kremlin dispatched only mid-level officials. President Volodymyr Zelensky had called on Putin to attend personally, stressing that only the Russian president could authorize a ceasefire.
Trump, who has not imposed new sanctions on Russia to pressure it into establishing a ceasefire, plans to speak with Putin on May 19. He said he would then speak with Zelensky and NATO leaders.
Kyiv and European governments continue to push for an unconditional truce, which Ukraine accepted in March. Moscow has ignored the offer and intensified its strikes on Ukrainian cities, including the largest drone attack of the war on May 18.
Chris York
(Updated: )
