In June, Putin said that Russia would immediately cease fire and begin negotiations with Ukraine after Kiev withdraws troops from the territory of Russia's new regions and officially abandons plans to join NATO.
"Over these two months, the territory liberated by our troops has increased by 420 square kilometers, and Ukrainian troops have lost, according to the [Russian] Ministry of Defense, more than 115,000 [servicemen] of their troops ... Although this could have been stopped if the demands set out by our president had been met. Therefore, our position is clear, understandable — the troops are moving forward," Shoigu told reporters.