Russian President Vladimir Putin has reignited concerns over the prospect of World War 3 by unveiling new military plans and a nuclear missile.
For several months, both Putin and US President Donald Trump have been showcasing their nations’ military and nuclear capabilities.
Despite the holiday season approaching, Putin shows no signs of easing his military activities. He addressed the Russian Defense Ministry board on Wednesday, December 17, highlighting what he describes as a ‘significant milestone’ in Russia’s military efforts over the past year.
As the conflict in Ukraine nears its fourth anniversary in February, Putin, 73, claimed that Russian forces have captured over 300 settlements this year.
He also announced a strategic shift involving a security buffer zone and a new weapons system, featuring the nuclear-capable Oreshnik ballistic missile.
“The Russian Armed Forces are grinding down the enemy, including its elite units trained in Western military centers,” he stated.
He ominously declared that Russia might extend its reach further into Ukraine if Kyiv and its Western allies do not comply with his demands amid ongoing peace talks.
Putin expressed a preference for resolving the conflict diplomatically but warned that if the ‘opposing side and its foreign patrons refuse to engage in substantive dialogue, Russia will achieve the liberation of its historical lands by military means’.
He claimed that the Russian army ‘has seized and is firmly holding strategic initiative all along the front line’ and suggested plans to expand a ‘buffer security zone’ along the Russian border.
“Our troops are different now, they are battle-hardened and there is no other such army in the world now,” he added.
Regarding the Oreshnik missile, Russia tested an armed version last November, striking a Ukrainian factory. The missile has now entered combat duty as of December.
Putin asserts that the missile is impossible to intercept.
These statements follow recent negotiations between Ukraine, the US, and the EU regarding a US-drafted peace deal, which the Kremlin suggests it might accept if its conditions are fulfilled.
The conditions include recognizing the four regions currently under Russian control, including Crimea, as Russian territory.
Putin also demands Ukraine’s withdrawal from specific eastern areas yet to be occupied by Russian forces and insists Ukraine withdraws its NATO membership bid.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has expressed willingness to abandon NATO ambitions if Kyiv receives NATO-like security assurances from the US and other nations, though he has not agreed to withdrawing troops from areas not yet taken by Russia.
Nevertheless, President Trump believes a resolution is near.
“We believe that we probably solved … 90 percent, literally 90 percent of the issues between Ukraine and Russia, but there’s some more things that have to be worked out,” a US official informed ABC News earlier this week.