Russian President Vladimir Putin has stated that his country's armed forces "firmly" hold the strategic initiative along the entire front line in Ukraine.
"The past year has become an important stage in solving the tasks of the special military operation," the Russian leader emphasized at a meeting of the Russian Defense Ministry's board.
At the same time, he praised the new Russian weapons "Burevestnik" and "Poseidon", adding that they will continue to be improved, and the "Oreshnik" missile will be put on combat duty by the end of the year.
Putin sharply criticized comments that Moscow poses a threat to Europe.
"In Europe, people are indoctrinated about the inevitable confrontation with Russia. They are told to be ready to fight with Russia. They are fueling this hysteria," he said, insisting that such claims are "lies" and "complete nonsense".
Putin stressed that his country has always been "committed to finding diplomatic solutions".
He reiterated that Moscow is ready to use military force to seize Ukrainian territories that it considers its own.
"The goals of the special military operation will certainly be achieved. We would prefer to do this - and eliminate the root causes of the conflict - through diplomatic means. "If the opposing side and its foreign patrons refuse to engage in substantive discussions, Russia will liberate its historical lands by military means," Putin vowed.
Russia has announced the annexation of four Ukrainian regions - Donetsk, Luhansk, Zaporizhia and Kherson (and in 2014 it annexed the Crimean peninsula from Ukraine).
However, Russian troops have almost complete control only over Luhansk Oblast. Moscow considers the withdrawal of Ukrainian troops from the entire Donetsk Oblast, even from those regions not under Russian occupation, to be a prerequisite for a ceasefire.