This year, the question-and-answer session lasted longer. For nearly four and a half hours, Russian President Vladimir Putin answered questions, sometimes delicate, from journalists and citizens of his country live on television, although everything was carefully staged. This is one of the rare opportunities for exchange. Between declarations on progress on the front of the war in Ukraine and provocations targeting the West, Vladimir Putin has multiplied his declarations. L’Express takes stock.
New Russian advances in Ukraine
Nearly three years after the start of the Russian offensive, Vladimir Putin declared that the invasion of Ukraine should have been launched “earlier”, implying that Russia should have prepared better. Vladimir Putin also assured that Russia was ready for a “dialogue” with Ukraine, but only on the basis of “ground realities”, a way of saying that his country would not return the conquered territories. He rejected any truce, which would allow Ukrainian forces to “take a break” and rearm.
Vladimir Putin also showed his confidence by estimating that the situation was “changing radically” on the front in Ukraine, where his troops are advancing at an unprecedented pace since the first months of 2022. But he admitted not knowing when his army would manage to hunt Ukrainian forces in the Russian region of Kursk, where they still occupy several hundred square kilometers despite attempts by Russian troops, supported according to kyiv by North Korean soldiers, to dislodge them. “We will absolutely defeat them,” the Russian president nevertheless assured.
Ready to meet Trump
The Russian president said Thursday he was ready to meet “at any time” with US President-elect Donald Trump, who recently called for a ceasefire and negotiations between Ukraine and Russia. “I am ready to do it, of course. At any time,” said the Russian president, declaring that he had not spoken with Mr. Trump “for more than four years”. The Republican, elected on November 5, has repeatedly promised to bring peace to Ukraine “in twenty-four hours”. But the vagueness surrounding his plan arouses concern in Ukraine. “If we ever meet President-elect Trump, I am sure we will have a lot to say to each other,” said Vladimir Putin.
A “high-tech duel of the 21st century” with the West
Vladimir Putin also praised the new Russian missile “Orechnik”, a “modern weapon” which can carry a nuclear charge and strike thousands of kilometers away. The Russian military first used it on November 21 against the Ukrainian city of Dnipro, presenting it as a response to recent Ukrainian strikes on Russian soil using American and British missiles.
The Russian president has since threatened to strike kyiv and even directly the Western countries which arm Ukraine. On Thursday, Vladimir Putin proposed to the West a “high-tech duel of the 21st century” between the Russian Orechnik and their anti-aircraft defense means. “Let them determine a target. Let’s say: kyiv,” he continued. “We’ll throw a strike there and see what happens.”
The fall of the Syrian ally is not a “defeat”
Another important international subject, Vladimir Putin affirmed that the fall in Syria of Bashar al-Assad, a close ally of Moscow, was not a “defeat” for Russia, which avoided the creation of an “enclave terrorist”. The fate of the two Russian military bases in Syria, crucial to Russia’s operations in the Mediterranean, is however up in the air. Vladimir Putin said he had not yet seen Bashar al-Assad, who found refuge on Russian territory with his family, but that he “intends” to speak with him. He also called on Israel to withdraw its troops from “Syrian territory”, which had been deployed in a buffer zone controlled by the UN.
Inflation in Russia, a worrying signal
Domestically, Vladimir Putin criticized the “failings” of the Russian secret services, which were unable to prevent the assassination on Tuesday in Moscow of General Igor Kirillov, an operation claimed by kyiv. The Russian president also admitted that galloping inflation in his country, of 8.9% in November, according to official figures, was a “worrying signal”.
The Russian economy, after having resisted over the last three years, is showing signs of running out of steam, notably with a surge in interest rates which is handicapping businesses, the weakening of the ruble and gloomy prospects for 2025. The situation of the The economy is “stable”, however, Vladimir Putin tried to convince in this show watched by millions of Russians.