On Wednesday, Russian President Vladimir Putin reaffirmed that Russia’s objectives in Ukraine remain steadfast, indicating they will be met either through negotiation or, if necessary, further military action should diplomatic efforts fail.

During an annual Defense Ministry board meeting, Putin highlighted Russia’s achievements on the battlefield and in technology, as the conflict in Ukraine extends into its fourth year.

“The objectives of our special military operation will certainly be fulfilled,” Putin declared, using the Kremlin’s terminology for its large-scale invasion initiated in 2022.

“Our preference is to resolve this and address the underlying causes of the conflict via diplomatic channels. However, if the other side and their international backers decline meaningful talks, Russia will proceed to reclaim its historical territories through military means,” Putin stated to military officials, according to the government’s transcript of his speech.

Present at the Defense Ministry’s annual meeting in Moscow on December 17, 2025, were Russian President Vladimir Putin and Chief of the General Staff Gen. Valery Gerasimov. (Photo by Alexander Kazakov/Sputnik, Kremlin Pool via AP)

Putin also took aim at Kyiv and its European allies for “whipping up hysteria” about Moscow as the Trump administration works to end the war. 

NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte warned allies last week that Russia could be ready to use military force against the alliance within five years and urged members to boost defense spending and production, so their armed forces have the resources to protect their homelands.

Putin referred to European leaders as “piglets” during the Defense Ministry meeting, according to a translated video of the remarks posted by Russian presidential envoy Kirill Dmitriev.

Russian troops stand for a moment of silence at the annual board meeting of the Defense Ministry in Moscow Dec. 17, 2025. (Alexander Kazakov/Sputnik, Kremlin Pool Photo via AP)

The comment was part of a broader tirade against the West, with Putin accusing European governments of helping Washington try to weaken and divide Russia.

“They were hoping to profit from the collapse of our country. To get back something that was lost in previous historical periods and try to take revenge,” said Putin. “As it has now become obvious to everyone, all these attempts and all these destructive plans towards Russia completely failed.”

The remarks come as U.S., European, Russian and Ukrainian officials engage in a flurry of diplomacy over potential paths to ending the war.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and his negotiating team met in Berlin Sunday with Jared Kushner and U.S. special envoy Steve Witkoff to discuss security guarantees for Ukraine.

(Front row from left) Finnish President Alexander Stubb, Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk, French President Emmanuel Macron, German Chancellor Friedrich Merz, Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, Steve Witkoff, Jared Kushner, Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni, and (back row from left) Jonas Gahr, NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte, Danish Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen, Ursula von der Leyen, Dutch Prime Minister Dick Schoof and Swedish Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson stand together in the chancellery in Berlin, Germany, on Dec. 15, 2025. (Markus Schreiber, Pool/AP)

Witkoff and Kushner previously held a five-hour meeting in Moscow with Putin and top foreign policy aide Yuri Ushakov in early December to hash out elements of a revised peace proposal after the original leaked 28-point draft drew criticism for being too favorable to the Kremlin.

Ushakov said the Russian side received four documents from the U.S. envoys during the meeting, including one that consisted of 27 points, but he declined to go into detail of what they contained.