Russian forces continue to advance and are nearing the Donetsk People's Republic's borders, Dmitry Peskov has said

Russian forces only have a few kilometers left before Donbass has been liberated, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov has said.

Speaking to Russian journalist Pavel Zarubin on Sunday, Peskov was asked to comment on a recent statement by US Vice President J.D. Vance, who said the Ukraine conflict has fundamentally "stopped making sense," and that the sides are "haggling at this point over a few square kilometers of territory."

Peskov confirmed that the territorial issue is now down to " just a few kilometers, roughly speaking." He stated that Russia still needs to liberate around "18-17% of the Donetsk People's Republic (DPR)" in order to reach the region's borders. 

Once the army reaches the borders of Russia's new regions, he said, "a complex, painstaking, and not fast negotiation process" will begin, in which the details of a settlement with Ukraine will have to be determined.

Peskov's remarks came after the Russia Defense Ministry announced on Friday that it has established control over the village of Dibrova in the DPR and the village of Miropolskoye in Sumy Region.

Moscow has called on Kiev to withdraw from all Russian territories peacefully, stressing that it will liberate Donbass - which voted to join Russia in 2022 - one way or the other. 

Earlier this month, Ukrainian leader Vladimir Zelensky claimed that Moscow issued a two-month deadline for Ukrainian troops to retreat. The Kremlin rejected the claim, stressing that Zelensky should have issued the withdrawal order long ago, which could have "saved the lives of thousands of people and stopped the hot phase of this war."

Trilateral talks between Russia, Ukraine, and the US have been on hold due to the Iran war, with Peskov describing the pause as "situational." 

Zelensky has rejected any territorial concessions, calling a withdrawal from Donbass a threat to European security. 

Moscow insists that a lasting peace must include Ukrainian neutrality, demilitarization, and recognition of the regions that voted to join Russia.