Moscow/Kyiv, December 5, 2025: Russian President Vladimir Putin has warned that Moscow will capture all of Ukraine’s Donbas region “by force of arms” if Kyiv refuses to withdraw its forces, a condition Ukraine has categorically rejected.
In an interview with Indian media published on Thursday ahead of his scheduled visit to New Delhi, Putin said Russia would settle for nothing less than full control of Donetsk and Luhansk, the two regions that make up the Donbas.
“Either we liberate these territories by force of arms, or Ukrainian troops leave these territories,” Putin said in a clip aired on Russian state television.
Putin launched the full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022 after eight years of conflict between Russian-backed separatists and Ukrainian forces in the Donbas. Kyiv, however, insists it will not surrender any territory to Moscow, arguing that Russia should not be rewarded for initiating an illegal war.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has repeatedly said Ukraine will not “gift” land that Russia has failed to seize in battle.
As of now, Russia controls 19.2% of Ukraine, including Crimea (annexed in 2014), the entire Luhansk region, more than 80% of Donetsk, around 75% of Kherson and Zaporizhzhia, small parts of Kharkiv, Sumy, Mykolaiv and Dnipropetrovsk and roughly 5,000 sq km of Donetsk remains under Ukrainian control.
In repeated discussions with U.S. officials over a possible outline for peace talks, Moscow has demanded full control of Donbas and informal U.S. acknowledgment of Russia’s authority over the occupied regions. In 2022, Russia declared Donetsk, Luhansk, Kherson and Zaporizhzhia as part of the Russian Federation after referendums widely condemned by Kyiv and Western governments as illegitimate.
On Tuesday, Putin hosted U.S. envoys Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner in the Kremlin, describing the meeting as “very useful.” He said Russia had accepted some U.S. proposals related to Ukraine, adding that the talks should continue. RIA Novosti reported that the discussions were based in part on ideas Putin and former U.S. President Donald Trump explored during a meeting in Alaska in August.
Meanwhile, Russian overnight strikes on civilian infrastructure have left tens of thousands of Ukrainians without electricity or heating as winter sets in.
Heavy drone and missile attacks targeted the frontline city of Kherson and the strategic port city of Odesa, according to local authorities and energy provider DTEK.
A DTEK energy facility was hit during the night, cutting electricity to 51,800 households.
Repeated Russian strikes forced the shutdown of a key heat and power plant, leaving 40,500 residents without heating.
Governor Oleksandr Prokudin condemned the attacks, saying the facility — used exclusively for civilian heating — had suffered “serious damage.”
“Once again, terrorists are waging war against the civilian population,” he said on Telegram.
Kherson, a frontline city, comes under Russian artillery, missile and drone fire almost daily.
Ukraine’s Energy Ministry added that Russian attacks had also left around 60,000 residents in Donetsk region without electricity, though details were not provided.
As winter approaches, Russia has intensified its strikes on Ukraine’s energy and utilities network, plunging entire cities into darkness and piling pressure on repair crews already stretched thin by months of relentless bombardment.
