MOSCOW, December 27. /TASS/. Russian President Vladimir Putin visited a command post of the Russian armed forces this morning and held a meeting with Chief of the General Staff Valery Gerasimov and the commanders of the battle groups. He heard a report on the liberation of Gulyaipole in the Zaporozhye Region and Dimitrov in the Donetsk People's Republic (DPR).

Putin said that the establishment of a buffer zone on the Russian-Ukrainian border is proceeding well, and that Russian Armed Forces are advancing in Donbass and the Zaporozhye Region along the entire line of engagement.

TASS has compiled the key statements by the head of state and the Chief of the General Staff.

On the liberation of Gulyaipole and Dimitrov

Gulyaipole is the second largest city in the Zaporozhye Region, so its liberation opens up good prospects for an offensive. The rapid advance of the Battlegroup East allows them to advance, liberating the Zaporozhye Region. Control of Krasnoarmeysk and Dimitrov creates favorable conditions for the further liberation of the Donetsk People's Republic.

About the special military operation

The tasks facing the Russian Armed Forces are being carried out in accordance with the plan approved and developed by the General Staff. The establishment of a security buffer zone in the border areas of the Sumy, Kharkov, and Dnepropetrovsk regions is progressing well.

About Kiev's stance

The Kiev regime started the war in 2014, and Russia is merely trying to bring it to an end. It all began with the 2014 coup d'etat in Kiev. Even then, Russia was asking for the legitimate right to self-determination for the residents of southeastern Ukraine, who did not recognize the results of the coup. But Moscow was not listened to. Russia insisted that the Kiev regime’s troops must be withdrawn from these territories to avoid hostilities. "There wouldn't have been any fighting if they had listened to us back then," Putin said. Today, the Kiev regime's leaders are in no hurry to resolve the conflict peacefully, even though even in the West, some far-sighted people urge the Kiev authorities to accept decent terms for ending the conflict and offer good fundamental conditions for ensuring Ukraine's long-term security. If Kiev refuses to end things peacefully, Russia will resolve all its challenges by force. The Russian offensive in Donbass is proceeding at such a pace that it reduces to nothing Moscow's interest in the Ukrainian forces’ pullout from these territories.

On the performance of the Russian Armed Forces

Street fighting is currently underway in Konstantinovka. Half of the city's buildings are already under Russian control. Gerasimov said that Russian troops are clearing out Ukrainian forces on the banks of the Oskol River near Kupyansk. Stepnogorsk in the Zaporozhye Region has been liberated, and the elimination of enemy forces in Primorskoye and Lukyanovsk is being completed. Following the liberation of Seversk, the southern group is advancing rapidly toward Slavyansk. Russian troops are fighting in the southeastern and eastern parts of Krasny Liman in the DPR. An enemy group in Drobyshevo has been trapped and is being destroyed. Russian troops are advancing on all fronts.