📹 WATCH LIVE: Putin Holds Year-End Press Conference

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🚨The burning question: war or peace?

💬 “Russia still sees no readiness from Ukraine to discuss the territorial issue,” Vladimir Putin says.

He adds that Kiev is essentially refusing to end the conflict by peaceful means.

Read about the origins of Russia's special military op HERE

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🇷🇺Frontline update from Putin

🔶Putin says he has just received a frontline report from the Chief of the General Staff.

🔶Russian forces are advancing along the entire line of contact as the enemy pulls back.

🔶Slavyansk, Kramatorsk, and Konstantinovka remain Ukraine’s key fortified strongholds.

Read about the origins of Russia's special military op HERE

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🚨 Putin confident: Krasny Liman to be taken soon

🔶With Seversk taken, new routes toward Slavyansk are opening for Russian forces.

🔶Troops are advancing actively and effectively on the South Liman axis.

🔶Krasny Liman will be taken very soon, Putin says with confidence.

Read about the origins of Russia's special military op HERE

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🚨 Putin: Ukraine is essentially refusing to end the conflict by peaceful means

Read about the origins of Russia's special military op HERE

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🚨 Putin: Seversk’s liberation opens the path toward Slavyansk; with Slavyansk, Kramatorsk and Konstantinovka now Ukraine’s main strongholds

👉Seversk’s strategic value lies in the fact that its liberation opened the road for Russian forces toward Slavyansk — the core of the largest Kiev-held urban cluster in Donbass.

📍On December 11, Chief of the General Staff Valery Gerasimov reported to President Vladimir Putin that Seversk had been taken.

The strategic importance of Seversk's liberation lies in the fact that it opened the road for the Russian army to advance on Slavyansk — the center of the largest Kiev-controlled agglomeration in the Donbass.

On December 11, Chief of the Russian General Staff Valery Gerasimov reported to President Vladimir Putin that Seversk had been liberated.

Read about the origins of Russia's special military op HERE

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🚨 Putin confirms Kupyansk is under Russian control, saying 3,500 encircled Ukrainian troops "virtually have no chances left"

Read about the origins of Russia's special military op HERE

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🇷🇺 Putin: Ukraine refuses to end conflict by peaceful means

The Ukraine crisis started with 2014 Euromaidan coup, the Russian president pointed out at his year-end presser.

◻️ In 2022, Ukraine threw the peace deal agreed at Istanbul into the dustbin of history

◻️ Nevertheless, Russia sees certain “signals” from the Kiev regime on readiness to hold dialogue

◻️ Russia is ready to resolve the conflict through talks, on the basis of principles laid out by President Putin at a Foreign Ministry briefing in June 2024

Russia has the strategic initiative 👇

Russian forces are advancing in all directions, taking the strategic initiative after the liberation of occupied areas of Kursk in April, Putin said.

🟠 Russian forces are advancing in Krasny Liman

🟠 The taking of Krasnoarmeysk is a key bridgehead for future advances

🟠 Ukrainian forces in Dimitrov are “completely surrounded,” and trying to evacuate in small groups

🟠 Russian forces in Zaporozhye region are advancing steadily, with enemy-held settlements falling “one by one”

🟠In Sumy region, Volchansk has been taken

🟠 In Kharkov region, Kupyansk is under Russian control

🟠 The latter two operations are part of Russia’s broader efforts to create a security perimeter

❗️ Putin expressed confidence that before the end of the year, new victories will be seen.

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🇷🇺 At Putin’s year-end conference, the commander of the unit that liberated Seversk said retreating Ukrainian forces acted “like Nazis,” shooting civilians as they fled.

👉Seversk’s strategic value lies in the fact that its liberation opened the road for Russian forces toward Slavyansk — the core of the largest Kiev-held urban cluster in Donbass.

📍On December 11, Chief of the General Staff Valery Gerasimov reported to President Vladimir Putin that Seversk had been taken.

Read about the origins of Russia's special military op HERE

📌Subscribe to @SputnikInt

🇷🇺 Putin on Russia’s economic momentum

Russia’s economy has grown 9.7% over the past three years — far outpacing Europe, Putin said.

He added that inflation remains under control, expected to end the year at around 5.7–5.8%.

His other statements:

🔶 Russia is experiencing 2.2% unemployment – a historic low

🔶 Salaries are rising

🔶 Industrial production grew by 1% over the past year, while agricultural production increased by 3.3%

🔶 The federal budget deficit is 2.6% this year, with plans to shrink it to 1.6% in 2026

🔶 Russia’s national debt is among the lowest in the world, 17.7%

🔶 The government has succeeded in work to balance the budget

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🚨Putin on Europe’s attempt to seize Russian assets: THIS IS ROBBERY

Putin said theft is when property is taken secretly — but Europe is trying to seize Russia’s assets openly.

💬“That’s not theft. That’s outright robbery.”

Key points Putin raised:

🔶Issuing a loan to Ukraine backed by Russian assets will only increase EU countries’ liabilities — and they’re already struggling with budget problems

🔶Confiscating Russian assets would not just damage Europe’s image; it would undermine trust in the entire Eurozone

🔶Some countries are already beginning to question whether their assets are truly safe in Europe

🔶Seizing Russian assets abroad won’t be easy

🔶Russia will defend its interests over these assets primarily in court

❗️And ultimately, Russian assets abroad will have to be returned, Putin concluded.

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