However, the number of those killed is not clear.
Putin in September ordered the call-up of 300,000 reservists, and in late October Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu claimed the full number had been mobilized.
The president further claims that Moscow would only use nuclear weapons in response to enemy attacks.
— When we meet, we fight back, says Putin.
He also says that what he describes as the “military intervention” in Ukraine may take a long time.
“Of course it can be a protracted process,” says the president.
At the same time, he claims that the annexation of the new Ukrainian territories is a “significant result” of Russia’s intervention in the country.
Earlier last fall, Russia annexed the four Ukrainian regions of Luhansk, Donetsk, Kherson and Zaporizhzhya in violation of international law. But Ukraine still controls parts of the regions, and several places have been retaken during the Ukrainian counter-offensive.