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The U.S. and Ukraine may have hailed progress<\/a> in\u00a0peace talks earlier this week, but Vladimir Putin maintains that Russia will \u201cundoubtedly achieve\u201d its goals in\u00a0the war against Ukraine. Speaking at\u00a0a\u00a0meeting of\u00a0senior defense ministry officials on\u00a0Wednesday, Putin took a\u00a0hard line against Kyiv and its allies, referring to\u00a0European leaders as\u00a0\u201cpiglets\u201d and vowing that Moscow would conquer its \u201chistoric lands\u201d in\u00a0Ukraine. At\u00a0the same time, Putin took a\u00a0more conciliatory tone toward the United States, underscoring that Russia remains \u201cin\u00a0dialogue\u201d with President Donald Trump\u2019s administration.<\/p>\n Putin maintained that Russia \u201cfirmly holds the strategic initiative along the entire front line\u201d in\u00a0Ukraine and that its army\u2019s capabilities are being \u201cconstantly enhanced.\u201d He\u00a0then told the defense officials:<\/p>\n The goals of\u00a0the will undoubtedly be\u00a0achieved. We\u00a0would prefer to\u00a0accomplish this and address the root causes of\u00a0the conflict through diplomacy. [However,] if\u00a0the opposing side and its foreign patrons refuse to\u00a0have a\u00a0substantive discussion, Russia will achieve the liberation of\u00a0its historic lands by\u00a0military means.<\/p>\n Putin condemned European leaders throughout his speech, claiming that they are \u201cindoctrinating\u201d their people to\u00a0believe that a\u00a0conflict with Russia is\u00a0inevitable and that preparations for a\u00a0major war are necessary. He\u00a0also insisted that Russia has \u201calways sought to\u00a0find diplomatic solutions\u201d to\u00a0conflicts. Responsibility for failing to\u00a0seize these \u201cchances,\u201d Putin said, \u201clies completely with those who believed we\u00a0could be\u00a0spoken to\u00a0in\u00a0the language of\u00a0force.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cWe\u00a0welcome the progress that has been made in\u00a0[our] dialogue with the new U.S. administration. Unfortunately, the same can\u2019t be\u00a0said of\u00a0the current leadership of\u00a0most European countries,\u201d Putin told the defense officials.\u00a0<\/p>\n You\u2019re currently reading Meduza, the world\u2019s largest independent Russian news outlet. Every day, we\u00a0bring you essential coverage from Russia and beyond. Explore our reporting\u00a0here<\/a>\u00a0and\u00a0follow us<\/a>\u00a0wherever you get your news.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n Later in\u00a0the meeting, Putin attempted to\u00a0shift the blame for Russia\u2019s 2022 invasion of\u00a0Ukraine onto Kyiv and its allies, and echoed Trump\u2019s claims that the war \u201cnever would have happened\u201d if\u00a0he\u00a0were president at\u00a0the time instead of\u00a0Joe Biden.\u00a0In\u00a0his words,<\/p>\n It\u00a0was not us\u00a0who started the war in\u00a02022; it\u00a0was destructive forces in\u00a0Ukraine with the support of\u00a0the West. In\u00a0essence, the West itself unleashed this\u00a0war. We\u00a0are only trying to\u00a0finish it, to\u00a0stop it. [\u2026] President Trump says that if\u00a0he\u00a0had been president then, none of\u00a0this would have happened. This may well be\u00a0true, because the previous administration deliberately steered things toward an\u00a0armed conflict.<\/p>\n Putin went on\u00a0to\u00a0refer to\u00a0European leaders as\u00a0\u201cpiglets,\u201d claiming that they went along with the Biden administration\u2019s policy of\u00a0supporting Ukraine in\u00a0the hope of\u00a0profiting from Russia\u2019s defeat. \u201cEveryone thought that they would destroy Russia in\u00a0a\u00a0short period of\u00a0time. And the \u2018European piglets\u2019 immediately joined in\u00a0the work of\u00a0the previous U.S. administration, in\u00a0the hope of\u00a0profiting from the collapse of\u00a0our country,\u201d Putin said.\u00a0<\/p>\n Reiterating Russia\u2019s purported willingness to\u00a0negotiate and \u201cresolve all problems peacefully,\u201d Putin speculated that this wouldn\u2019t be\u00a0possible with Europe until its current leaders lose power.<\/p>\n The U.S. administration is\u00a0demonstrating such readiness, and we\u00a0are in\u00a0dialogue with them. I\u00a0hope the same will happen with Europe. It\u00a0is\u00a0unlikely that this is\u00a0possible with the current political elites, but in\u00a0any case, this will be\u00a0inevitable as\u00a0we\u00a0grow stronger. If\u00a0not with the current politicians, then with a\u00a0change in\u00a0the political elites in\u00a0Europe. <\/p>\n