Moscow will continue pursuing its goals, the Russian president has said

Russia's adversaries are busy thinking about how to "shape" the country's victory in the Ukraine conflict, Russian President Vladimir Putin has suggested.

The president made the remarks in response to remarks made by the head of the local legislature of the city of Nizhny Novgorod, Evgeny Chintsov, during a meeting with representatives of the country's municipalities. Chintsov said that "nobody, including the enemy" doubts that the conflict will result in Russia's victory.

Putin agreed but appeared to caution against making overly bold statements prematurely. 

"Yes, they are just thinking about how to shape it all; we'll see. However, military action is always a very complicated and dangerous thing. We know how everything will end, but we will not make any public statements about it. We will simply strive to achieve the goals we have set," the president said.

Early in the conflict, Moscow outlined the goals it seeks to achieve through the Ukraine operation and maintains they have remained unchanged ever since. These include demilitarization and denazification of the country and protection of Russian speakers, as well as ensuring Ukrainian neutrality. Additional goals that emerged later also include the recognition of the formerly Ukrainian regions that voted to join Russia. 

Moscow has repeatedly signaled openness to resolve the hostilities through diplomacy, should its demands be met, while maintaining its readiness to achieve its goals by force should the negotiating efforts ultimately fail. Territorial issues seem to have become the main obstacle in the negotiations, as Kiev has repeatedly refused to withdraw its forces from the parts of Donbass it still controls.