The statement was made in the context of Russia-Ukraine negotiations continuing to be stalled and tensions showing no signs of cooling down.
On April 13, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said that Russian forces are only "a few kilometers" away from completing control of the Donbass region, marking a significant step forward on the battlefield.
Speaking to journalist Pavel Zarubin, Mr. Peskov confirmed that the current territorial issue "is only a few kilometers away, relatively speaking". According to him, Russia still needs to control about 17-18% of the territory of the Donetsk People's Republic to reach the entire regional border.
This statement was made after the Russian Ministry of Defense announced that it had controlled more residential areas, including Dibrova village in Donetsk and Miropolskoye in the Sumy region, showing that the offensive momentum is still being maintained.
Mr. Peskov emphasized that when the Russian military achieves its territorial goals, a new phase will begin - which is a "complex, time-consuming and not-quick" negotiation process to determine settlement terms with Ukraine.
Commenting on the statement of US Vice President J.D. Vance - who said that the Ukraine conflict is becoming "irrational" when the parties only dispute a few kilometers of territory, Mr. Peskov indirectly confirmed that this opinion partly reflects the reality on the battlefield.
On Moscow's side, Russian officials continue to call on Kiev to withdraw troops from areas that Russia claims sovereignty over, while affirming that it will "control Donbass by all means". Russia also emphasized that these areas have voted to join the Russian Federation since 2022.
Meanwhile, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky rejected the possibility of territorial concession, saying that withdrawing from Donbass would threaten European security. Previously, Mr. Zelensky accused Russia of issuing a "ultimatum" of 2 months for the Ukrainian army to withdraw - which the Kremlin denied.
Russia believes that a long-term peace agreement must include conditions such as Ukraine maintaining neutrality, demilitarization and recognition of annexed territories.
Currently, trilateral talks between Russia, Ukraine and the US are still interrupted, which according to Mr. Peskov is due to "situational" factors, including the impact of the conflict related to Iran.
Although the war is said to have reached an important milestone, the prospect of peace is still far away as the gap in positions between the parties has not narrowed.
