In an interview with Pink TV, he said that, in his opinion, the conflict in Ukraine will not end soon.

The President explained that when many predicted the imminent outcome of the conflict in favor of the Ukrainian side, the Russian military "became more successful in participating in hostilities."

Earlier, the acting head of the Donetsk People's Republic, Denis Pushilin, said that Russian troops were close to the operational encirclement of Artyomovsk in the DPR.