Putin's remarks on Saturday (December 27), carried by state news agency TASS, followed a vast Russian drone and missile attack that prompted Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy to say Russia was demonstrating its wish to continue the war while Kyiv wanted peace.
Zelenskiy is to meet US President Donald Trump in Florida on Sunday (December 28) to seek a resolution to the war Putin launched nearly four years ago with a full-scale invasion of Russia's smaller neighbour.
The White House did not immediately respond to a request for comment on Putin's remarks.
Russian commanders told Putin during an inspection visit that Moscow's forces had captured the towns of Myrnohrad, Rodynske and Artemivka in Ukraine's eastern region of Donetsk, as well as Huliaipole and Stepnohirsk in the Zaporizhzhia region, the Kremlin said on the Telegram messaging app.
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Ukraine's military rejected Russia's assertions about Huliaipole and Myrnohrad as false statements. The situation in both places remains "difficult" but "defensive operations" by Ukrainian troops are ongoing, the General Staff of Ukraine's Armed Forces said in a statement on social media.
The Southern Command of Ukraine's Armed Forces said on Telegram "fierce fighting" continued in Huliaipole. "However, a substantial part of Huliaipole continues to be held by the Defence Forces of Ukraine."
Verifying battlefield claims is difficult as access on both sides is restricted, information is tightly controlled and front lines shift quickly, with media relying on satellite and geolocated footage that can be partial or delayed.
