Russian President Vladimir Putin said the conflict with Ukraine would continue if no agreement is reached with Kyiv.

“If we do not succeed in reaching an agreement on Ukraine, then we will achieve our goals by military means,” Mr Putin said at a press conference at the end of his four-day visit to China.

Mr Putin was once again confident of victory in Beijing.

He said Russian troops are successfully advancing everywhere on the front.

The reserves of the Ukrainian armed forces are exhausted, the 72-year-old said.

Russian troops have been advancing slowly in eastern Ukraine, and recently, Ukraine has mounted some successful counterattacks, which have led to the recapture of individual towns and villages.

Mr Putin also questioned Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky’s legitimacy to conduct negotiations, repeating his argument that the Ukrainian leader’s term of office expired in 2024.

Mr. Zelensky continues to lead Ukraine under martial law, which allows him to remain in office beyond his term, in line with the constitution.

A dialogue with Mr Zelensky was a “dead end,” said Mr Putin, while at the same time praising U.S. President Donald Trump, who has been pushing for a meeting between the Russian and Ukrainian presidents.

Mr Putin said he sees “light at the end of the tunnel” because of the attitude of the new U.S. administration.

“If common sense prevails, an acceptable end to the Ukraine conflict could be reached.”

Mr Putin did not say what this would look like in concrete terms.

However, he denied that Russia had directly linked security guarantees for the neighbouring country to territorial claims.

Following more than three and a half years of war, Russia controls some 20 per cent of Ukraine and is demanding that Kyiv relinquish territories Moscow annexed illegally.

Mr Zelensky categorically refuses to give up territory, stating that this is not allowed under the Ukrainian constitution.

Russia is less concerned with territory than with the protection and rights of the predominantly Russian-speaking population living there, Mr Putin said.

(dpa/NAN)