Vladimir Putin has hailed his troops’ progress in Ukraine during an annual press conference in Moscow a staple of his 25-year rule with the Russian president emboldened by battlefield gains in Ukraine during a US diplomatic push to end the almost four-year war.
As Russia’s offensive enters another winter, Putin has spent days telling Russians that Moscow will seize the rest of eastern Ukraine by force if diplomacy fails.
Lanched in February 2022, the Russian leader’s assault on Ukraine has become Europe’s worst conflict since World War II, killing thousands on both sides.
Russia has since then lived under massive Western sanctions, along with a domestic crackdown on dissent unseen since the Soviet era.
“Our troops are advancing along the entire line of contact… the enemy is retreating in all directions,” Putin said at the set-piece event, shown on big screens across Russian cities.
“I’m sure that before the end of this year we will still witness new successes,” he added, reeling off a list of Ukrainian cities in the crosshairs of his army.
Reinforced security measures were in place around Moscow’s Kremlin and Red Square with some areas closed for pedestrians. Dozens of police cars and special services could be seen in the streets, AFP reporters witnessed.
Putin was speaking as the EU scrambled to help Kyiv avoid a deal pushed by the United States, seen as imposing an effective capitulation on Ukraine, and as the Kremlin seeks to keep Europe out of the settlement talks.
Escalating rhetoric, Putin earlier this week called EU leaders “piglets” and vowed to seize the rest of Ukrainian land he has proclaimed as Russian “by military means” if talks fail.
In Friday’s speech, he warned of “severe” consequences if EU powers followed through on proposals to use Russian assets frozen in Europe to fund Ukraine’s defence.
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