Kremlin: Withdrawing Russian troops from Ukraine before 2023 out of the question

According to Kremlin's official spokesman Dmitry Peskov, the withdrawal of the Russian troops from Ukraine before the end of this year "is out of the question." Instead, Ukraine will have to accept the reality that has developed over all this time, he added.

"These are the realities that have developed because of the line, the policy that has been pursued over the past 15 or even 20 years by the leadership of Ukraine and the current Ukrainian regime, — Interfax quoted Peskov as saying. — These realities indicate that the Russian Federation has new obtained subjects. They have appeared as a result of the referenda that took place in those territories. Without taking these new realities into account, any progress is impossible.”

The day before, Ukrainian President Zelensky suggested Russia should withdraw its troops before the New Year holidays.

"We offer Russia to take a specific and meaningful step towards a diplomatic settlement, which Moscow talks about so frequently. There are holidays ahead that billions of people celebrate: Gregorian Christmas [December 25], New Year's, Julian Christmas [January 7].

"This is the time when normal people think about peace rather than aggression. I offer Russia to at least try to prove that it is capable of refusing aggression. It would be right to begin the withdrawal of the Russian troops from the internationally recognised territory of Ukraine this Christmas,” Zelensky said.