War in Ukraine: Vladimir Putin condemns US efforts to 'preserve global domination'

Russian president Vladimir Putin has condemned what he described as US efforts to preserve its global domination, saying they are doomed to fail.

His aggressive stance comes as Turkish president Recep Tayyip Erdogan said he believed Russia's leader was seeking an end to the war he began in Ukraine.

Mr Erdogan said his impression from recent talks with Mr was that he wanted to "end this as soon as possible".

However, the Kremlin has said there are no prospects for a negotiated end to the war in Ukraine and gave its blessing to efforts to swiftly bring regions already captured under Russia’s complete control.

A photo shows damaged houses and a crater in the ground in Siversk, Donetsk region amid Russia's military invasion on on Ukraine. Picture: Juan Barreto/AFP via Getty Images

Such a move could set the stage for Moscow to escalate the conflict if Ukrainian forces try to take the regions back.

A close ally of Mr Putin, former president Dmitry Medvedev, said folding the separatist Luhansk and Donetsk regions of eastern Ukraine into Russia itself would make their redrawn frontiers “irreversible” and enable Moscow to use “any means” to defend them.

Mr Putin, speaking while receiving credentials from foreign ambassadors to Moscow, said: “The objective development toward a multi-polar world faces resistance of those who try to preserve their hegemony in global affairs and control everything — Latin America, Europe, Asia and Africa.”

The Russian president said “the hegemony has succeeded in doing so for quite a long time, but it can’t go on forever … regardless of the developments in Ukraine”.

He has repeatedly cast his decision to send troops into Ukraine as a response to alleged western encroachment on Russia’s vital security interests.

The Russian leader said western sanctions against Moscow over its action in Ukraine were part of efforts by the US and its allies to strengthen their positions, but claimed they have backfired against their organisers and also damaged poor countries.

“As for Russia, we won’t deviate from our sovereign course,” he said.

Speaking later during a separate meeting on military industries, he said Russian weapons had shown high efficiency during the fighting in Ukraine and told officials to quickly increase output.

“Our equipment efficiently confronts western types of weapons,” Mr Putin said. “Practically all of Nato weapons stockpiles have been brought to support the current regime in Kyiv.”

He added Russia should study western weapons to improve its own arsenals.

“We can and must learn about these arsenals, everything they have, everything they use against us to qualitatively increase our potential and improve our equipment, our weapons where we need to do it,” he said.

Mr Putin said he had ordered bigger allocations for new weapons, offered more loans to military industries and approved additional payments to their workers to increase output.

Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said there were no prospects for a diplomatic settlement.

The recapturing of large areas of previously Russian-occupied territory, most notably in the north-eastern Kharkiv region, has strengthened Ukraine’s arguments that its troops could deliver more stinging defeats to Russia with additional armament deliveries.

More heavy weaponry is on its way, with Slovenia this week promising 28 tanks and Germany pledging four additional self-propelled howitzers.

More aid also is expected from Britain, already one of Ukraine’s biggest military backers after the US.