Russian President Vladimir Putin warned on the 27th (local time) that if Ukraine does not seek a peaceful resolution to the conflict, Russia will resort to the use of force.
According to TASS and RIA Novosti, Putin visited one of the joint forces headquarters that day, received a briefing on the situation of the "special military operation" in Ukraine, and held a meeting.
At the meeting, Putin said, "Unfortunately, the leaders of the Kyiv regime are in no hurry to resolve this conflict peacefully," adding, "If the Kyiv authorities do not want to resolve this issue peacefully, we will use military means to fulfill all the tasks of the special military operation."
He added, "All the tasks we face are being carried out according to the plan of the special military operation," and said, "Judging by today's briefing and developments observed at the front, for various reasons our interest in the Ukrainian army withdrawing from the territories they occupy has in fact been reduced to zero (0)."
That day, Russian Chief of the General Staff Valery Gerasimov and the commanders of the eastern and central battle groups reported to Putin that Russian forces had liberated Mirnohrad (Russian name Dimitrov) in Donetsk and Huliaipole (Russian name Guliaipole) in Zaporizhzhia.
Putin also said that pressure on the Ukrainian military is being intensified in all directions, adding, "Good progress is being made in creating security zones in Sumy, Kharkiv, and Dnipropetrovsk."
Putin's remarks that day are seen as an attempt to increase pressure on Ukraine by emphasizing the Russian army's advantage at the front ahead of the meeting scheduled in the United States on the 28th between President Donald Trump and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky to discuss an end-of-war proposal.