Russia-Ukraine war: Putin tells Russia his war objectives are unchanged By George Wright, Vitaliy Shevchenko & Paul Kirby Media caption, Watch: Putin meets AI version of himself Russian President Vladimir Putin has said peace with Ukraine will only take place "when we achieve our objectives". He was fielding questions from journalists and ordinary Russians in his first marathon news conference since the full-scale invasion of Ukraine began in February 2022. Much of the largely choreographed event focused on what he calls the "special military operation in Ukraine". He insisted the situation was improving throughout the front line. The "direct line" programme, televised for more than four hours by most major channels, began with President Putin telling Russians: "The existence of our country without sovereignty is impossible. It will simply not exist." He added that Russia's economy was strong for a time of war and the topic of conversa...