Moscow: When the world's, as also the Western bloc's, attention slightly shifted to West Asia with Israeli military causing death and destruction in Gaza, the focus on Ukraine has been on wane. Amidst reports of the US-baked West's dwindling aid commitment to help out Ukraine, Russian President Vladimir Putin has continued to sound aggressive and unrelenting.
Putin began his end-of-year news conference on Thursday with a question about Ukraine, reiterating that there is no room for any compromise on his part and implying that the Russian operation will go on until Russia's objectives are achieved. .
Putin was greeted with applause as he arrived in the hall in central Moscow, a short distance from the Kremlin. This year, ordinary citizens have the chance to phone in questions along with those asked by journalists, and Russians have been submitting questions for Putin for two weeks.
Major areas of questions expected to be asked are the war in Ukraine, payments to soldiers and their families and the economy, Russian state journalists said.
Indeed, the first question was about Ukraine. Putin said Thursday that Moscow's goals — “de-Nazification, de-militarisation and a neutral status” of the country — remain unchanged. And he spelled out the same goals that he had declared when sending troops to Ukraine in February 2022.
“De-Nazification” is evolved from Russia's allegations that the Ukrainian government is heavily influenced by radical nationalist and neo-Nazi groups. The claim is derided by Ukraine and the West.
Putin has also demanded that Ukraine remain neutral — and not join the NATO alliance.
“There will be peace when we will achieve our goals,” Putin said.
The Kremlin has since repeatedly said that the “special military operation” in Ukraine will continue until those loosely defined goals are achieved.
Putin, who has held power for nearly 24 years, said last week that he is running for reelection in March. Last year, he did not hold his usual call-in show with ordinary Russians or his traditional session with reporters.
In addition, his annual state-of-the-nation address was delayed until February of this year. His last news conference was in 2021 amid US warnings that Russia was on the brink of sending troops into Ukraine.
Putin has heavily limited his interaction with the foreign media since the fighting began but international journalists were invited this year.
With the future of Western aid to Ukraine in doubt and another winter of fighting looming, neither side has managed to make significant battlefield gains recently. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy travelled to Washington on Tuesday and made an impassioned plea for more US aid and weaponry.
Putin's appearance is primarily aimed at a domestic audience and will be a chance for him to personally resolve the problems of ordinary Russian citizens and reinforce his grip on power ahead of the March 17 election.
“For the majority of people, this is their only hope and possibility of solving the most important problems,” according to a state television news report on the Russia 1 channel.
State media said that as of Wednesday, about 2 million questions for Putin had been submitted ahead of the broadcast, which is heavily choreographed and more about optics than scrutiny.
In 2021, Putin called a citizen who asked about water quality in the city of Pskov in western Russia and personally assured him he would order the government and local officials to fix the problem.
Some Russian journalists, who lined up for hours in freezing temperatures to get into the venue, have donned traditional dress, including elaborate hats in order to catch Putin's attention. Many journalists also hold placards, prompting the Kremlin to limit the size of signs they can carry during the news conference, which often lasts about four hours.
Attendees must test for COVID-19 and flu before entering the news conference site. Putin enforced strict quarantine for visitors during the COVID-19 pandemic.
- Inputs from PTI/AP