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By Shane Croucher and John Feng
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Russian President Vladimir Putin said his troops had won the "strategic initiative" all along the front lines of the Ukraine war and that they are "grinding down" Kyiv's NATO-trained and equipped forces.
Russia and Ukraine, as they pursue United States-brokered peace negotiations, are jostling for control of the narrative to strengthen their positions at the diplomatic table.
Ukraine is emphasizing the effectiveness of its strikes on Russian oil infrastructure, the central pillar of the Kremlin's economy, and the robustness of its defense in the face of a much stronger aggressor. But Russia points to its steady battlefield advances, which it says will continue until victory unless Kyiv agrees to its territorial demands.
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“The Russian army has gained and firmly maintains the strategic initiative along the entire front line during the special military operation,” Putin said at a high-level Defense Ministry meeting on Wednesday, the Interfax news agency reported.
Russia calls its war in Ukraine a "special military operation." Both sides have suffered huge losses of manpower in the war.
“I would note that the outgoing year has become an important stage in accomplishing the tasks of the special military operation. The Russian army has gained and firmly maintains the strategic initiative along the entire front line,” Putin said.
“Our troops are confidently advancing forward and are ‘grinding down’ the enemy—its groupings and reserves—including so-called elite units and formations that have undergone training in Western military centers and are equipped with modern foreign equipment and weapons.”
Putin also claimed that Russian forces had taken control of 300 Ukrainian settlements in 2025.
Ukraine has disputed previous claims by Russia that it has taken control of certain settlements along the front line, notably Pokrovsk, the key logistics hub in Donetsk.
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Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky visited his troops near Kupiansk last Friday after Kyiv's forces said they had recaptured several settlements in the northeastern Kharkiv Oblast and encircled a Russian group, a rare battlefield gain amid Moscow's advances elsewhere.
Zelensky, sharing a video on his Telegram, said in Ukrainian that "our warriors" are "achieving results for Ukraine here" that he could use in the diplomatic efforts to secure a just peace.
"Many Russians talked about Kupiansk—we can see it. I was there; I congratulated the guys. I thank every unit, everyone who is fighting here, everyone who is destroying the occupier," Zelensky said.
"Today it is extremely important to achieve results at the front so that Ukraine can achieve results in diplomacy. This is exactly how it works: all our strong positions inside the country are strong positions in the conversation about ending the war."
Update 12/17/25, 9:37 a.m. ET: This article was updated with additional information.
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