Vladimir Putin signaled he will press military advances and expand a buffer zone after Ukraine talks in Berlin, reiterating in a Defense Ministry speech that he will seize "historical lands" if diplomacy fails.Putin derided European leaders as "European piglets," blamed Joe Biden for helping cause the conflict and praised Donald Trump while demanding that Ukraine cede the Donbass and accept a demilitarized free economic zone, remarks that complicate negotiations that had shown technical progress but remain deadlocked over territory and guarantees.Kyiv rejects any ceding of land, analysts at
ISW warn
Russia could only fully seize the Donbas by August 2027,
Mikhail Khodorkovsky cautions of a decade-long new cold war, and an
ISD study found major
AI chatbots propagated Russian talking points as domestic strains such as halted 95-octane sales in Sverdlovsk illustrate civilian impacts.