Putin: Western calls for preparation for war with Russia 'a lie'

Russian President Vladimir Putin said on Wednesday that there were some calls in the West to prepare for a major war with Russia and he described this as "hysteria" and "a lie".

He also said that if Ukraine and the West abandon peace talks, then Russia will take the lands it claims in Ukraine by military means.

"Russia will 'certainly' achieve its goals in Ukraine"

Putin said Moscow would "certainly" achieve its goals in the offensive in Ukraine, including seizing the territories it claims are its own, amid a flurry of international diplomatic attempts to end the war.

"The goals of the special military operation will certainly be achieved," Putin told a meeting with defence ministry officials in Moscow, using the Kremlin's wording of the nearly four-year offensive.

"We would prefer to do this and eliminate the root causes of the conflict through diplomacy," Putin said in a statement.