Putin vows to reach all ‘goals’ in Ukraine as army claims new ground

MOSCOW: Russian President Vladimir Putin vowed on Monday to achieve all his “goals” in Ukraine and celebrated the second anniversary of annexing four Ukrainian regions, as his army claimed fresh advances in the conflict.

Moscow has captured dozens of Ukrainian towns and villages this year, pressing forward even as Kyiv mounts a cross-border offensive into Russian territory. “The truth is on our side. All goals set will be achieved,” Putin said in a video address marking what he calls “Reunification Day” -- when Moscow annexed four southern and eastern Ukrainian regions in 2022.

He also repeated his justification for sending troops into Ukraine, saying he was protecting Russian speakers against a “neo-Nazi dictatorship” that aimed to “cut them off forever from Russia, their historic homeland”.

“Together we are defending a safe, prosperous future for our children and grandchildren,” Putin said. Russia claimed to annex the Ukrainian regions of Lugansk, Donetsk, Zaporizhzhia and Kherson in September 2022, but it does not fully control any of them.

The Kremlin has pursued a relentless assault in eastern Ukraine in recent months, pressing its advantage as Ukrainian soldiers grapple with exhaustion and relentless bombardment. The Russian army said Monday its troops had “liberated” the Ukrainian village of Nelipivka, which had a population of around 1,000 before the conflict.

It lies just north of the Ukrainian town of New York, where Kyiv claimed to have made rare gains earlier in September. The main target of Moscow´s assault in recent months has been the Ukrainian logistics hub of Pokrovsk, a city on road and rail routes that supply Kyiv´s forces across the frontline.