Western allies pledged billions of dollars in arms to Ukraine last week, although they failed to persuade Germany to lift its veto on providing German-made Leopard battle tanks, which are held by an array of NATO countries but whose Transfer to Ukraine requires Berlin’s approval.
Since its February 24 invasion, which it has presented as defending itself from an aggressive West, Russia has seized control of parts of Ukraine and has said it will never return them.
Kyiv has said that restoring Ukraine’s territorial integrity is not open to negotiation. Volodin’s comments followed a similar threat last week by Dmitry Medvedev, Russia’s former prime minister and president.
Volodin, 58, has been speaker of the State Duma, the lower house, since 2016, having previously held a senior role in the presidential administration. As a member of Putin’s Security Council, he has regular access to the president.