MOSCOW, Nov. 12 (Xinhua) -- Russian President Vladimir Putin on Thursday proposed organizing a humanitarian mission to evacuate civilians from Kostiantynivka in eastern Ukraine, drawing on previous experience in Oleshky.
Speaking during talks in Moscow with U.S. presidential special envoy Steve Witkoff and U.S. President Donald Trump's son-in-law Jared Kushner, Putin said hundreds of civilians remained in the city and called for their evacuation.
Located in the Donetsk region, Kostiantynivka had served as a key Ukrainian military stronghold. Russia claimed to have taken full control of the city in July.
On territorial issues, Putin said Russia would recognize "only the state border" as the line of demarcation with Ukraine. He reiterated Moscow's opposition to the deployment of foreign troops in Ukraine, warning that such forces would pose a threat to Russia's national security and become legitimate military targets.
Putin also said Moscow has never opposed dialogue with Europe, but European countries has severed contacts with Russia. He expressed hope that Washington would work with European countries to promote peace, and stressed the need for a lasting settlement of the Ukraine conflict.
Russian forces continued strikes on Ukrainian military-industrial and energy facilities using ground-based precision-guided weapons and long-range attack drones, the Russian Defense Ministry said Thursday.
Russian forces struck drone production and assembly plants in Kiev and the surrounding region, as well as facilities in the Kiev region producing solid rocket fuel components for operational-tactical missiles and solid-fuel boosters for drones, it said.
On the same day, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said Ukraine would never recognize Russia's occupation of its territories, regardless of any decision made by the United States, the Interfax-Ukraine news agency reported.
"We must make it clear that we will never, under any circumstances, recognize Russia's occupation of Ukrainian territory," Zelensky told the plenary session of the European Political Community summit.
On Wednesday, Zelensky said Ukraine could not agree to withdraw from the Donbas region to end the conflict, because the issue concerns the country's independence. ■
