Moscow, Russia, 5 December (H.S.): President Vladimir Putin declared on Thursday that Russia will seize complete control of Ukraine's Donbas region—comprising Donetsk and Luhansk—through military force unless Ukrainian troops withdraw voluntarily, a demand Kyiv has categorically rejected amid stalled peace efforts.

In an interview with India Today ahead of his New Delhi visit, Putin framed the choice starkly: Either we liberate these territories by force of arms, or Ukrainian troops leave these territories, underscoring Moscow's hold on roughly 85% of Donbas while about 5,000 square kilometers in Donetsk remains under Kyiv's control.

Russia currently occupies 19.2% of Ukraine, including annexed Crimea since 2014, all of Luhansk, over 80% of Donetsk, and significant portions of Kherson, Zaporizhzhia, plus slivers of other eastern oblasts.

The pronouncement follows Putin's Tuesday Kremlin meeting with U.S. envoys Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner, which he deemed very useful based on prior discussions with President Donald Trump in Alaska, though RIA Novosti cited unresolved sticking points like full Donbas recognition.

Ukraine insists on no territorial concessions to an aggressor, with President Volodymyr Zelenskiy arguing Moscow should not profit from its 2022 invasion that escalated an eight-year separatist conflict in Donbas.

Western nations and Kyiv dismiss Russia's 2022 referenda annexations as shams, recognizing the territories as sovereign Ukrainian soil.

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Hindusthan Samachar / Jun Sarkar