Russian President Vladimir Putin reiterated that Ukrainian forces must withdraw from eastern Donbass, warning that the war in Ukraine cannot end otherwise.

"Ukrainian troops will either leave these territories, or we will liberate them by force," Putin told India Today. Moscow currently controls around 85 percent of Donbass.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has rejected any notion of ceding the region.

The remarks come after former US President Donald Trump claimed that Putin “wants to stop the war” following talks with US peace negotiators in Moscow. Trump’s envoy, Steve Witkoff, is scheduled to meet the Ukrainian delegation in Florida as part of ongoing discussions.

Trump described the Kremlin talks on Tuesday as “so-so” and cautioned that any resolution would require “the will of both sides.”

Earlier US proposals reportedly suggested transferring the remaining Ukrainian-controlled areas of Donbass to Russia, but Witkoff’s team is understood to have presented a revised plan during the Moscow meetings.

Ahead of his official visit to Delhi, Putin said he had not yet seen the new proposals submitted by Witkoff and Jared Kushner.