Vladimir Putin has boasted Russia will take territory from Ukraine either one way or another in a chilling warning to the West sparking World War III fears. Speaking during a very cosy visit this week to India to see Prime Minister Narendra Modi, the Russian leader was asked about his thoughts on the future of the Donbas region in Ukraine, which is the site of fierce fighting between invading Kremlin forces and the defending Ukrainian military.

The Donbas Oblast area in eastern Ukraine, along with the neighbouring Donetsk Oblast, have been the front line in the war between Ukraine and Russia since Putin ordered the invasion in February 2022. By sheer weight of numbers Russia is slowly advancing in the two oblasts, but with an astonishingly high cost of life and equipment. The Ministry of Defence estimates the Russians were losing more than 1,000 soldiers per day as casualties during fighting in October, with a horrifying 1.14 million killed or injured since the war began.

Despite the staggering losses the Kremlin is still sending more soldiers to the front line and inch-by-inch the numbers are having an effect on the smaller Ukrainian forces, who are slowly falling back even with support from the West in terms of money and equipment.

In a chilling sign of his determination to push on with the bloodshed against Ukraine and her European and Western allies, Putin told India Today there were only two ways the territory would end up, and both of them involved Russian being in control.

“Either we liberate these territories by force of arms, or Ukrainian troops leave these territories,” Putin said.

Twisting the narrative of the conflict, Putin added that even before the full-scale war broke out, Moscow had offered Kyiv the opportunity to withdraw its troops from Donbas, but Ukraine “chose to fight”.

In reality the two regions of eastern Ukraine have been in conflict since 2014 when Russia attempted to annex several towns and cities. In the same year Russia also took full control of the Ukrainian territory of the Crimea, a peninsula on the country’s southern Black Sea coast.

Putin held talks with Indian Prime Minister Modi on Friday at an annual summit and agreed to diversify mutual economic ties. The meeting came as Washington sought to force New Delhi to stall its trade relations with Russia in an attempt to starve Putin’s economy to force him to make peace in Ukraine.

President Trump has previously been vocal in his threats to punish nations, including India, which still buy Russian oil and who support Moscow with trade.

But despite the warnings from the White House, Putin and Mr Modi announced that India and Russia finalised an economic cooperation program until 2030, boosting annual trade to £74 billion by 2030.

In a seeming slap in the face to Trump, the two nations also reaffirmed their energy partnership, giving Putin a green light to continue funding his invasion in Ukraine.

A triumphant Putin said: “Russia is a reliable supplier of energy resources and everything necessary for the development of India’s energy sector. We are ready to continue ensuring the uninterrupted supply of fuel for the rapidly growing Indian economy.”