I should have invaded Ukraine earlier, Putin tells Russians in TV marathon

Russian President Vladimir Putin said Russia should have launched a full-scale invasion of Ukraine earlier and been better prepared for war.

At his end-of-year press conference on Thursday, Putin said that in hindsight there should have been “systemic preparation” for the 2022 invasion, which he called a “special military operation.” .

Russia retook Crimea from Ukraine in 2014 and pro-Russian forces sparked conflict in eastern Ukraine, but it was eight years later that Putin attempted to seize kyiv.

During his four-hour appearance, Putin also spoke about Syria's fallen leader, Russia's more aggressive nuclear doctrine as well as domestic issues, such as the price of butter.

Billed as “Results of the Year with Vladimir Putin,” the event was broadcast live on major state television channels on Thursday.

Putin appeared in front of a large blue screen displaying a map of the Russian Federation, with the annexed parts of Ukraine.

He took questions from the public, foreign journalists and retirees – but it was a highly choreographed and tightly controlled affair.

Asked by Steve Rosenberg, the BBC's Russia editor, whether he thought the country was in a better state than his predecessor, Boris Yeltsin, left it 25 years ago, Putin said that Russia had regained its “sovereignty”.

“With everything that happened to Russia before this, we were heading toward a complete and utter loss of our sovereignty.”

Asked about the fall of the Assad regime in Syria, Putin insisted that it was not a defeat for the Kremlin – which supported President Bashar al-Assad militarily for years – but he admitted that the situation was “complicated”.

He said he had not yet spoken to the ousted Syrian leader, who fled to Moscow as rebel forces closed in on Damascus earlier this month, but planned to do so soon.

He added that Russia was in talks with Syria's new leaders to keep two strategically important military bases on the Mediterranean coast and that Moscow would consider using them for humanitarian purposes.

Regarding US President-elect Donald Trump, Putin said the two had not spoken in four years, but that he was ready to meet with him “if he wanted to”.

When asked that he was in a weak position compared to Trump, who is expected to take office in January, Putin quoted American writer Mark Twain: “The rumors about my death are very exaggerated,” causing some laughter in the conference room. .

Turning to China, Putin said Russia's relations with its eastern neighbor had reached an unprecedented level and the two countries were coordinating their actions on the global stage.

“Over the past decade, the level and quality of our [Russia-China] relations have reached a point that has never existed in our entire history,” he said.

A lengthy portion of the session was devoted to the war in Ukraine, with Putin saying he was “open to compromise” to end the war – although it was unclear what such compromises might entail.

Russian forces are advancing “every day” on the front lines, he said, calling his troops “heroes”.

At one point, he showed a signed flag that he said had been given to him by Russian marines who were “fighting for the homeland” in the Kursk region, and asked two observers to hold it behind him to the cameras.

He also discussed Russia's construction plans in areas it conquered from Ukraine, saying the quality of roads in Ukraine's Luhansk region had greatly improved since its seizure by Russian-backed forces. Russia in 2014.

When asked by an audience member if the West had “got the message” about the change in Russian nuclear doctrine, which Putin managed to win in Novemberhe said “you’ll have to ask them”.

The new nuclear doctrine allows Russia to carry out a nuclear strike against any country, if it is supported by a nuclear power.

This means that if Ukraine launched a large-scale attack on Russia with missiles, drones or conventional aircraft, it could meet the criteria for a nuclear response, as would an attack on Belarus or any critical threat to the sovereignty of Russia.

Putin also highlighted the capabilities of Russia's new intermediate-range ballistic missile, Oreshnik, which was used in a strike against Ukraine in November.

To test its power, he suggested that Russia should fire the Oreshnik toward Ukraine and that Ukrainian air defenses — using U.S.-supplied systems — should try to shoot it down.

As for the name “Oreshnik”? “Honestly,” Putin said with a smirk, “No idea. No idea.”

A dominant theme throughout the event was “Russian sovereignty”, with Putin saying that reduced dependence on international partners – partly due to Western sanctions – was one of the main achievements of his invasion of Ukraine.

He said the economy was “stable”, pointing to higher growth than countries like Germany, but admitted inflation of 9.1% was “alarming”.

In fact, the economy is overheating and heavily dependent on military production – sometimes called the “military-industrial complex.”

Throughout his speech, Putin also answered questions on domestic issues – from telephone scams to young people's difficulties in obtaining a mortgage loan.