Russian President Vladimir Putin has warned Kyiv it should quickly accept Moscow's terms of ending the fighting, or brace for another military assault on Ukraine's capital city.
Speaking at a meeting with leaders of the Kremlin-controlled Russian Parliament, Putin accused Western allies of fueling the hostilities between the neighboring countries, claiming the "the West wants to fight us until the last Ukrainian."
"It's a tragedy for the Ukrainian people, but it looks like it's heading in that direction," said Putin. "Everybody should know that largely speaking, we haven't even yet started anything in earnest."
Putin says Russia remains ready to sit down for cease-fire talks. However, "those who refuse to do so should know that the longer it lasts, the more difficult it will be for them to make a deal with us."
He added, "We are hearing that they want to defeat us on the battlefield. Let them try."
On Thursday, Putin also reiterated a previous claim of the West using the Russia-Ukraine conflict to try to isolate and weaken Moscow.
"They simply don't need such a country as Russia," Putin said. "This is why they have used terrorism, separatism, and internal destructive forces in our country."
The Russia-Ukraine war has been ongoing since Feb. 24, the first day of Moscow's full-scale invasion of Ukraine.
In previous stages of conflict, the Kremlin wanted Kyiv to acknowledge Russian sovereignty over the Crimean peninsula it annexed from Ukraine in 2014. It also demanded the Ukrainians recognize the independence of Moscow-backed separatist regions in eastern Ukraine.
Russia also seized control of the southern Kherson region and part of neighboring Zaporizhzhia. Military pundits expect Moscow to attempt cutting off Ukraine off from its Black Sea coast, all the way to the Romanian border.
If executed, it could deal a "crushing blow" to the Ukrainian economy.
According to The Associated Press, Moscow also said it expected Ukraine to "bow" to the existing situation on the ground, a reference to the Russian troops' territorial gains over the last 4 1/2 months.
Earlier this week, the Russian military claimed control of Ukraine's Luhansk province, one of the two regions that make up Donbas, and reportedly has plans of entering into the Donetsk region.
Putin reasons that Western sanctions against Russia have failed to achieve their goal of "sowing division and strife in our society and demoralizing our people."
"The course of history is unstoppable, and attempts by the collective West to enforce its version of the global order are doomed to fail," he added.
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