Published: 10:19 AM, 14 December 2023
Newly confident Putin faces the press and Russian people
Vladimir Putin on Thursday will hold his first year-end press conference since sending troops into Ukraine, with the Russian president feeling the tide turning in his favour nearly two years into the conflict.
Putin will answer questions from journalists and viewers during the hours-long marathon, a week after he announced he is running in next year's presidential election, which would keep him in the Kremlin until at least 2030.
The Russian leader will "sum up the results of the year," his spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters.
"It will be a combined format of the Direct Line and the president's final press conference," Peskov told reporters.
Direct Line is a carefully choreographed call-in televised show that Putin has held annually -- with a few exceptions -- since 2001.
The event was cancelled last year amid a struggling operation in Ukraine that saw Kyiv take back swathes of its territory from Russia in the east and south.
Ukraine's strong resistance and support from its allies had surprised observers around the world and in Moscow, where many had expected to conquer Kyiv in a few days.
But almost two years into his offensive, Putin may be sensing that his fortunes are reviving.
Ukraine's latest counteroffensive failed to pierce heavily entrenched Russian lines, and support from its allies is fraying.
