Amid the ongoing peace efforts, Russian President Vladimir Putin has warned that Moscow would seek to broaden its territorial control in Ukraine if Kyiv and its allies reject the Kremlin's demands.
Addressing an annual meeting of the senior military commanders, Putin, however, asserted that Russia favours resolving the conflict through negotiations and by working to "eliminate the root causes of the conflict".
"If the opposing side and its foreign patrons refuse to engage in substantive dialogue, Russia will achieve the liberation of its historical lands by military means," he said.
The President claimed that the Russian army has seized and is firmly holding strategic initiative all along the front line and warned that Moscow will move to expand a buffer security zone alongside the border.
Putin's tough statements came amid a series of talks between Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and his Western allies.
US President Donald Trump had on Tuesday said a settlement was "closer than ever" following high-level discussions in Berlin.
What are Russia's demands?
Moscow wants all the areas in the four key regions captured by its forces, as well as Crimea, which was illegally annexed in 2014, to be recognised as Russian territory.
It also demands that Ukraine withdraw from some areas in eastern Ukraine that Moscow's forces have not captured yet.
The Kremlin also insists that Ukraine abandon its bid to join NATO.
Zelenskyy has rejected all these demands, though he expressed readiness to drop Ukraine's bid to join NATO if the US and other Western nations give Kyiv security guarantees.
