Putin calls Ukraine neutrality a Russian goal, claims 1,301 square km gained
Putin paired the territorial claim with an offer to resume arms control talks with the US and confirmation of asset seizures against European states
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UpdateThursday, October 1, 2026 at 2:23 PM ET
Putin said the 1,301 square km territorial gain came specifically during September, and said Russia needs security guarantees over Ukraine, a demand he described as anchoring Moscow's position for months.
Russian President Vladimir Putin said Ukraine's neutrality remains one of Russia's goals and said Russian forces have gained control of 1,301 square kilometres of Ukrainian territory.
Putin also said Russia is ready to resume arms control talks with the United States. That offer covers arms control alone and stops short of the broader Ukraine peace process under discussion this month. Putin separately confirmed that Russia is carrying out reciprocal asset seizures against Germany and other European states.
The neutrality demand restates a precondition Russia has held throughout the negotiating track, one that Kyiv and its Western backers have resisted. It does not advance the stalled talks any further than the arms control and asset-dispute statements Putin made the same day. The territorial figure fits the pattern of incremental battlefield claims Putin has repeated for months rather than marking any change of pace.
Nothing in Thursday's statements changes the underlying diplomatic stalemate, where Kremlin offers to talk continue to sit alongside hardened terms on Ukraine.