“Ukraine does not want peace. Russia has taken Konstantinovka, a strategic city for liberating the entire Donetsk People’s Republic,” Vladimir Putin said, wearing a uniform as he reviewed the situation in Ukraine. Videos and photos released by the Kremlin show the Russian president attending a meeting at the joint armed forces command post. “The territory of the Luhansk People’s Republic has been completely liberated,” he added, and he said that with control of Donetsk the prospect of taking the Donbass in its entirety becomes attainable.

Putin said the execution of the Special Military Operation’s tasks is proceeding according to the plan of the General Staff of the Russian Armed Forces. “Since the beginning of the year, Russian soldiers have liberated 133 settlements and taken control of more than 3,000 square kilometers of our land in the Donbass and New Russia,” he stated, giving these figures. In recent hours he highlighted the capture of Konstantinovka, calling it “strategically important and the key to liberating the entire Donetsk People’s Republic.”

In statements released by Moscow, Putin criticized Ukraine and specifically President Volodymyr Zelensky, whom he called “hypocritical.” “The pompous declarations of the head of the Kyiv regime about the non-existent military successes of the Ukrainian armed forces will benefit Russia,” he said. “We are advancing along the entire front line,” Putin repeated, saying Moscow aims to create a security zone in the Sumy and Kharkiv regions. He warned that if Kyiv continues to “strike civilian targets” in Russia, the Kremlin will order the expansion of the security zone “into historically Russian lands.” He also said he had ordered the armed forces to be ready to respond in case Kyiv attempts incursions.