Russian president Vladimir Putin praised his troops’ advances in Ukraine on Friday, December 19th during his end-of-year televised press conference.

Putin said Russian forces were advancing along the entire front line and predicted further gains before the end of the year, listing Ukrainian cities he said were now within reach. He repeated warnings that Russia would seize the rest of eastern Ukraine by force if diplomacy failed.

The remarks came as the U.S. pushes for talks to end the war and European leaders worry about a rushed deal that could force Kyiv to cede territory. Putin dismissed any compromise on territorial issues, stating that Russia was negotiating from a position of strength, excluding a ceasefire this year.

He also warned of “severe consequences” if the EU were to use frozen Russian assets to fund Ukraine, calling such a move “robbery”.

Following the EU summit on Thursday, December 18th, where leaders agreed not to use (for now) the Russian assets but a €90 billion joint loan to finance Ukraine, critics from the European Right said the decision deepens financial risks for Europe and undermines efforts to bring the war to an end.