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London — President Vladimir Putin said on Thursday that Russia had barely started in Ukraine and dared to defeat it on the battlefield.
In a super-hawkish speech to parliamentary leader more than four months before the war, Putin said the longer the conflict, the less likely the negotiations would be.
"Today I hear they are trying to beat us on the battlefield. After all, let them try," he said.
"We have heard many times that the West wants to fight us until the last Ukrainians. This is a tragedy for the Ukrainians, but everything goes for this.
Russia has waged a surrogate war by hitting the economy with economic sanctions and strengthening the supply of advanced weapons to Ukraine. I'm blaming you.
But Putin, boasting that Russia is gaining momentum, also mentioned the possibility of negotiations.
"In general, everyone should know that we haven't really started anything yet," he added. "At the same time, we do not refuse peace negotiations, but those who refuse them should know that the more it progresses, the harder it is for them to negotiate with us."
It was the first reference to diplomacy for weeks after repeated statements from Moscow that negotiations with Kieu had completely collapsed.
Since the invasion of Ukraine on February 24, Russian troops have occupied a large area of the country, including completing the seizure of the eastern region of Luhansk last Sunday.
However, Russia's progress was much slower than many analysts expected, and Russian troops were beaten in the first attempt to seize the capital Kyiv and the second city, Kharkiv.
(Report by Mark Trevelyan in London, edited by Leslie Adler)
