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Russian President Vladimir Putin accused the West of waging a proxy war in Ukraine on Thursday and said the world should know the war is just beginning, nearly five months after the invasion began.
“Everyone should know that to a large extent, we haven’t even started anything seriously,” Putin told parliament leaders.
“The march of history is unstoppable and the efforts of the collective West to impose its version of world order are doomed to failure.”
For the first time in weeks, Putin also suggested that Russia is willing to sit down for peace talks with Ukraine, warning that “the longer it takes, the harder it will be for them to make a deal with us.”
Russian President Vladimir Putin chairs a meeting via video link in Sochi, Russia, May 24, 2022. (Sputnik/Mikhail Metzel/Kremlin via REUTERS)
Ukraine has projected a tough defense of its territory, backed by billions worth of Western weapons that the US and allies have sent to push back Russian forces.
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Russia’s overtures to peace talks, meanwhile, are likely empty gestures, US officials have said in recent weeks.
“We have seen no interest on the part of Vladimir Putin to engage in any kind of meaningful diplomatic initiative,” US Secretary of State Anthony Blinken said last week at the NATO Public Forum.
Mykhailo Podolyak, an adviser to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, listed Ukraine’s terms for peace on Sunday, including a ceasefire, the withdrawal of Russian troops, the return of abducted citizens and other measures.
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Russia’s invasion of Ukraine has shifted to eastern Donbas in recent months after Putin’s forces failed to capture the capital Kiev in the first days of the war.
The Russian military claimed victory in Luhansk province earlier this week and is waging an offensive in the other Donbas province of Donetsk.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
Paul Best is a reporter for Fox News Digital. Story tips can be sent to [email protected] and on Twitter: @KincaidBest.
