Putin vows to 'finish off' Ukraine and mocks size of British army after 'reassurance force' announced
28 March 2025, 11:12 | Updated: 28 March 2025, 13:12
Vladimir Putin has vowed to "finish off" Ukraine and mocked the size of the British army after a "reassurance force" was announced.
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Putin made the remarks while aboard a new nuclear submarine during a visit to an Arctic naval base on Thursday.
He claimed Russian forces have the "strategic initiative" along the Ukrainian front line and had reason to believe his army would "finish them off".
He also reaffirmed his claim that Volodymyr Zelenskyy, whose term expired last year, lacks the legitimacy to sign a peace deal.
Any agreement that is signed with the current Ukrainian government could be challenged by its successors, he said, adding that new elections could be held under external governance.
"Not long ago I said we'd grind [Ukraine] down - now it looks like we'll finish them off," Putin told submariners.
He went on to say: "[Britain] is jumping on us, behaving aggressively... but their economy is, I think, in the ninth or tenth place in the world.
"Hence the armed forces - what is it, 170,000 or 180,000? That's all the armed forces of the UK!"
It comes after Britain and France confirmed on Thursday that they are drawing up plans to send a "reassurance force" to Ukraine and will soon send military chiefs to the country to determine the scheme’s viability.
The British-French delegation heading to Ukraine will also be joined by a team from Germany, with Starmer saying Britain is "ready" to to come up with an "operational" deal.
"We will be ready to operationalise a peace deal whenever its precise shape turns out to be, and we will work together to ensure Ukraine’s security so it can defend and deter against the future," Starmer said.
However, not all European allies of Ukraine agree on the proposed deployment of an armed force in the country.
"It is not unanimous," French President Emmanuel Macron said. "We do not need unanimity to achieve it."
Macron went on to say: "There will be a reassurance force with several European countries that will deploy."
Putin previously issued a stark warning to Nato countries too, declaring that Russia is ready to protect its land in the arctic if Donald Trump goes ahead with his plan to purchase Greenland.
"It would be a grave mistake to think that this is just some eccentric talk of the new American administration, nothing of the kind," he said.
He added that the US had previously drawn up plans to take Greenland in the nineteenth century, but these were abandoned.
"Those plans have deep historic roots and it is obvious that the US will continue to promote their geopolitical, military and economic interests in the Arctic.
"As for Greenland, I think that this is an issue that concerns two states and has nothing to do with us.
"However, we are concerned by the fact that the Nato countries increasingly identify the far north as a foothold for possible conflicts."
Donald Trump has insisted the United States will take over Greenland, which is currently controlled by Denmark while having its own government, since entering office in January.
