On December 9, Russian President Vladimir Putin expressed his determination to achieve the goals set out in the military campaign, most notably protecting people in Donbass and desamilitarizing Ukraine.
We will of course reach a reasonable end to this process, until the goals of the special military campaign are achieved, Putin said at an online meeting at the Human Rights Council of the Presidential Palace.
The Russian leader noted that one of the main causes of the conflict was the deployment of Ukrainian troops to Donbass after the end of the 2014 Maidan coup.
This is a historic territory with two regions supporting Russia in the breakaway region, the Donetsk People's Republic and Lugansk.
With a series of "artillery pieces, heavy equipment, tanks and airplanes" of Ukraine appearing more and more in Donbass, Moscow has been forced to deal with "military force" to protect the people and Russian speakers.
Speaking to local media during his visit to India last week, Putin reiterated that Russia has been trying to resolve the conflict diplomatically for eight years and has signed Minsk agreements in the hope of achieving a peaceful solution.
However, Western leaders later admitted that they had no intention of implementing these agreements and only signed to set a time for Ukraine to rearme, the Russian president said.
President Putin also welcomed a new diplomatic effort by US President Donald Trump, based on his 28-point peace plan, as the foundation for an agreement.
On December 9, Mr. Trump called on Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky to seriously consider US-made peace proposals, in the context of the huge gap between Russia and Ukraine.
Trump said senior Ukrainian officials had a big crush on the proposal, but Zelensky had not really read it.
Zelensky will have to be more proactive and start accepting some things, Trump said, adding that the battlefield disadvantage is leaning towards Ukraine.
