Days before NATO was to approve a plan to increase its military might throughout Europe, Russian President Vladimir Putin stated Thursday, June 19, 2025, that the alliance was not in danger from NATO’s drive to increase defense spending.
During a late-night press conference, the Russian leader further stated that his soldiers would continue to advance in Ukraine and that he aimed to discredit Volodymyr Zelenskyy, his Ukrainian counterpart.
Under pressure from U.S. President Donald Trump, the Western military alliance will meet in The Hague next week to discuss raising defense expenditure to 5% of GDP.
NATO, led by the United States, has been Ukraine’s strongest ally since Russia began its offensive in February 2022, and Mr. Putin has framed his offensive in Ukraine as part of a larger struggle between Russia and NATO.
At a televised news conference in Saint Petersburg, Mr. Putin stated, “We do not consider any rearmament by NATO to be a threat to the Russian Federation, because we are self-sufficient in terms of ensuring our own security.”
Mr. Putin stated that it was “no sense” for NATO to increase its arms spending because Russia is “continually modernizing our armed forces and defensive capabilities.”
He acknowledged that increased NATO spending might provide certain “specific” difficulties for Russia, but he dismissed them.
“We’ll fight back against any threats that come up. That is undeniable,” Mr. Putin continued.
More than three years after Russia ordered its full-scale military offensive, Kyiv is looking to NATO for security guarantees as part of any agreement to halt the combat.
Zelenskyy get-together?
Mr. Putin stated Thursday, June 19, 2025, that Russia had the “strategic advantage” in combat, demonstrating Moscow’s unwillingness to compromise.
“All along the line of contact, our troops are moving forward. They continue to go forward every day, more or less. He added, “And the advance will continue.”
Mr. Putin also sought to justify his three-year campaign against Ukraine, questioned Mr. Zelenskyy’s legitimacy and dismissed civilian deaths from Russia’s daily aerial attacks.
He said he was ready to meet with his Ukrainian counterpart, but only during a “final phase” of negotiations on ending the three-year conflict.
He also suggested Mr. Zelenskyy had no right to sign a peace agreement given his five-year mandate had expired, a notion Kyiv has dismissed as baseless propaganda.
We must come up with a solution that will not only end the present conflict but also establish the framework necessary to stop future occurrences of the same kind of situation,” Mr. Putin stated.
“I am prepared to meet with Mr. Zelenskyy and everyone else. That isn’t the problem; if the Ukrainian government has faith in a specific individual to lead negotiations, for heaven’s sake, it could be Mr. Zelenskyy,” the Russian leader stated.
Mr. Putin declared, “We don’t care who negotiates, even if it is the current head of the regime.”
Only at a “final phase, so as not to sit there and divide things up endlessly, but to put an end to it,” he continued, would this take place.
Mr. Zelenskyy’s demands for a face-to-face meeting to reach a peace agreement have been turned down by Mr. Putin.
In addition, Moscow has rejected calls for a complete and unconditional ceasefire and laid forth a number of strict prerequisites for peace, such as Kyiv giving up Western military assistance and granting more land.
Kyiv has brushed them off as “ultimatums” and charged Moscow with purposefully undermining peace initiatives in order to exacerbate the war.
In the midst of the deadlocked negotiations, Russia has intensified its aerial attacks on Ukraine.
At least 28 people were killed by Russian strikes on the Ukrainian capital on Wednesday, June 19, 2025, according to Kyiv.
On Thursday, June 19, 2025, Mr. Putin asserted that his forces did not target civilian areas, despite ample proof of widespread civilian deaths during the campaign and the damage of several locations, including hospitals, schools, and apartments.
A few hours prior, AFP reporters in Kyiv had saw rescuers moving victims’ body bags across debris mounds from a demolished apartment complex.
