Russian President Vladimir Putin said on Wednesday that his country will achieve its objectives in Ukraine, including control of what he called "historical Russian territories," the annexed regions that it claims as its own, amid a flurry of diplomatic efforts to end the conflict. “The objectives of the special military operation will be achieved, without a doubt,” Putin said at a meeting with senior Defense Ministry officials in Moscow, using Kremlin terminology to refer to the offensive launched in February 2022 against Ukraine. “We would prefer to achieve this and eliminate the root causes of the conflict through diplomacy,” but “if the rival country and its foreign backers refuse to talk in a substantive way,” we will do so “by military means,” he promised, addressing the top brass of the Russian Army and Defense Ministry. “We welcome the progress made in the dialogue with the new US administration, which, unfortunately, cannot be said of the current leaders of most European countries,” he added. US-Ukraine Negotiations On Monday, Ukraine praised the “progress” on the issue of future security guarantees it is seeking, following two days of talks with envoys of US President Donald Trump in Berlin. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky indicated, however, that significant differences still exist regarding the territories Ukraine would have to cede to Russia. The Kremlin stated on Wednesday that it was still awaiting information from the United States on the outcome of the talks in Berlin. “We expect that, as soon as they are ready, our American counterparts will inform us of the results of their work with the Ukrainians and the Europeans,” declared Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov.