President Vladimir Putin said on Thursday he would halt Russia's military offensive in Ukraine if Kyiv withdraws from the territories Moscow claims as its own, warning that, otherwise, his military would seize the land by force.
The Russian army has been slowly but steadily grinding through eastern Ukraine in costly battles against outnumbered and outgunned Ukrainian forces.
Washington has, meanwhile, renewed its push to end the nearly four-year war, putting forward a surprise plan that it hopes to finalize through upcoming talks with Moscow and Kyiv.
"If Ukrainian forces leave the territories they hold, then we will stop combat operations," Putin told reporters at the end of a three-day visit to Kyrgyzstan. "If they don't, then we will achieve it by military means."
Russia controls around one-fifth of Ukraine's territory. The issue of occupied land, which Kyiv has said it will never cede, is among the biggest stumbling blocks in the peace process.
Another important issue in the talks are Western security guarantees for Ukraine, which Kyiv says are needed to prevent Moscow
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