Russian President Vladimir Putin is vowing not to “abandon the goals” of his war on Ukraine—and is pushing for further military buildup and further upgrades to his nuclear forces, Reuters reported. At a conference with his senior defense officials Tuesday, Putin also appeared to express at least some openness to discussing the future of the war with Western countries. “In Ukraine, those who are aggressive towards Russia, and in Europe and in the United States—do they want to negotiate? Let them. But we will do it based on our national interests,” Putin said. “We will not give up what is ours.” Putin said Russia would continue to boost its nuclear forces and attempt to increase its number of voluntary and contract soldiers by more than 250,000 in the coming year.
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