President Putin: Russia has never given up on negotiations with Ukraine.

According to RT, Russian President Vladimir Putin said that if the Ukrainian authorities wish, not just in words but in action, to resolve the issues peacefully, Russia is ready to do so.

President Putin emphasized that Russia has never abandoned a peaceful solution to the conflict. At the same time, the Russian leader pointed out the need to confront the forces invading the Kursk region – those who are trying to destabilize the situation in Russia.

President Putin stated that Russia has no hostile countries, but instead, "only hostile elites."

“We don’t have hostile languages, we don’t even have hostile countries – we have hostile elites in some countries that have been fighting Russia for centuries, not just now, to weaken Russia, because they think they are too powerful. However, now they are being threatened by a vast country like Russia,” President Putin emphasized.

Commenting on the progress of the offensive in Donbass, President Putin said that the Russian armed forces are taking control of territories "not in meters, but in square kilometers."