Putin criticized Ukraine for not being in a hurry to resolve the conflict peacefully

Russian President Vladimir Putin said that Russia has observed that Ukraine is not in a hurry to end the conflict through peaceful means. If the Ukrainian side is unwilling to resolve the conflict peacefully, Russia will achieve all the goals of the "special military operation" through force.

Reuters, citing Russia's TASS news agency, reported that Putin made the above remarks on Saturday (December 27).

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky is set to travel to Florida on Sunday (28th) to meet with US President Donald Trump to discuss sensitive issues such as Ukraine's security, the future of the Donbas region in eastern Ukraine, and the Zaporizhzhia Nuclear power plant.

The Russian army launched a large-scale drone and missile attack on Kyiv, the capital of Ukraine, one day before the meeting between the heads of state of the United States and Ukraine. Zelensky criticized Russia for its intention to continue the war and said that Kyiv is eager for peace.

The Kremlin earlier released a statement on social media saying that Putin inspected a command post of the Russian armed forces and listened to reports from Chief of General Staff Gerasimov and Russian military commanders.

According to the statement, a Russian military general told Putin that troops have captured three towns in Ukraine's Donetsk region: Dimitrov (known as Myrnohrad in Ukraine), Rodynske and Artemivka. And Huliaipole and Stepnohirsk in Zaporizhzhia Oblast.

The Ukrainian army said in its battle situation update on Saturday that its troops had repelled the Russian offensive in the areas around Mirnograd and Guryabai.

In addition, Moscow Mayor Sobyanin posted on social media later on Saturday that Russia shot down several Ukrainian drones flying to the capital Moscow on that day.

According to data released by Sobyanin, as of 7 p.m. local time (12 p.m. Singapore time), Russia has shot down 21 Ukrainian drones flying to Moscow.

According to the Russian Ministry of Defense, between 3 p.m. and 6 p.m. on Saturday, Russian air defense forces shot down 111 Ukrainian fixed-wing drones within Russian territory.

The Russian Aviation Agency said that to ensure the safety of aircraft flights, temporary takeoff and landing restrictions have been implemented at Vnukovo and Sheremetyevo airports in Moscow.